<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Raggedy Ragtime by Rabbit_Head_007</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29447079">Raggedy Ragtime</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabbit_Head_007/pseuds/Rabbit_Head_007'>Rabbit_Head_007</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Raggedy Ann &amp; Andy - All Media Types, Raggedy Ann and Andy a Musical Adventure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A little bit of violence, And Babette smokes, And all the trials and tribulations of seedy speakeasy’s, Andy gets to swear sometimes, F/F, Get ready for 1920’s lesbian pining, Trans Andy!, a little bit of drinking, slowish burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:16:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,906</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29447079</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabbit_Head_007/pseuds/Rabbit_Head_007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A little Raggedy Ann and Andy au where they're just humble little mechanics in the 1920's! Set during the prohibition era, follow Ann as she gets swept off her feet by a mysterious French aristocrat.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Andy/Clem, Ann/Babette, Raggedy Andy/Clem, Raggedy Ann/Babette</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Aristocrat of the Red Shining Scrap</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks a heap to all the folks on discord for helping me come up with ideas and for being such fun people to talk with everyday! Hope you guys like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Off to the side of the sparkling silver cities of hustling business men and women, was a small and poor town made of copper golden shacks. Precariously lumped together, the little copper buildings stood slanted side by side like bent cardboard boxes, covered with dust from the neglected roads. Glistening in the merciless sun, the little copper town shined like gold. </p><p>At the end of the winding, cracked, and dusty road stood a junkyard covered with so much rust that it bled like a red scab at the edge of town. And in that midst of rusted dirt and blood, was a sign of life and vigor that could not be seen anywhere within the copper town for miles. A quaint shop connected to a large garage stood shining in an array of colors in the middle of the scrapheap.</p><p>Metal sheets haphazardly painted in shades of teal, orange, and emerald green were welded together to create a large garage, big enough to fit four cars. From the top of its open lateral running doors were green glass bottles girlishly tied with colored ribbons that glistened in the sun. Their iridescent shadows left green beams of light that lazily floated across the garage’s interior walls like the reflections of an ocean wave. Connected to the garage through a humble fuschia door was the shop, which held an oak desk speckled with scratches and holes. It was only a matter of time before it fell apart, and yet its owners gambled each day to conceal their important work documents within the confines of its shaking drawers. A few mismatched chairs with fading cushions were placed about the shop, one behind the desk, and two in front, and contributed to the overwhelming smell of dust and mildew. The two windows that flanked either side of the front door amplified the rays of the cruel sun, and made the heat of the office unbearable. And so in an effort to avoid the lethargy of the summer’s heat wave, two siblings meandered idly in the garage.</p><p> </p><p>---------------------</p><p> </p><p>Andy laid sprawled out on the hood of his family’s old car, his arm possessively crooked around a bottle of cola, his hat tipped low over his eyes. Within the shadows of the colored garage, Andy took solace from the summer heat. Deeper within its shadowy confines, his sister Ann stood with her brows furrowed and her eyes focused on the corkboard that hung above the work desk. As she tapped her foot incessantly, the buttons comprised of bottle caps and copper scraps fashioned into flowers and hearts that adorned her overalls quietly clacked about. “<em> It was missing something</em> …” she thought. Along the top of the corkboard were magazine cuttings that spelled out in saturated letters “OuR FIRsT cUsTOMeRS,” which proudly displayed the awkward grins of the people in the photographs below. </p><p>A melancholic and lumpy man smiled sheepishly alongside Ann and Andy’s wide grins. He was the shyest customer they had ever had, and spoke very little, yet he always made sure to stop and wave at them each day as he commuted down the road for work. </p><p>In another photo, an old and wrinkled farmer was seen laughing wildly at the sight of the two siblings before him. He was a dusty old man, whose disheveled state often made him embarrassed whenever he went into town. So in an effort to make him feel better, Ann suggested that she and her brother paint their faces in dirt and black soot and funny markings. When he returned later that evening to pick up his beloved truck, he burst into a laughing fit seeing the two twins painted in dirt that made them look like they had black eyes and funny beards and mustaches. He asked for a copy of the picture before he went home that day. </p><p>Another picture showed a plump foster mother and her two foster daughters. Andy never cared for her bug-eyed daughters, or the way they often spoke in unison and showed up when you least expected them, but Uncle Maxie liked them, and especially their mother. Ann and Andy were often left babysitting the twin girls while their Uncle Maxie talked with the plump woman in the office. She always brought home-baked pastries when she came by, so they supposed the burden of watching her unnerving daughters was worth it.</p><p>As Ann scrutinized the corkboard, she spotted an empty corner near the top. Unfastening a pin made from copper wire from her overalls, she placed the decoration upon the board, and felt a sense of satisfaction. Her soft and crackly voice cut through the silence of the garage.</p><p>“Hey Andy...how’s this look?”</p><p>Her brother lazily shifted his head and peaked out from under the brim of his hat, his eyes slowly following the floating green globs that shone from the light of the decorated glass bottles until they landed on the corkboard. “It looks...fuller now...It looks good Ann.”</p><p>His sister smiled warmly. “Why, thank you Andrew.” Andy nodded lightly and retreated back under the comfort of his hat, feeling a sense of peace within the quiet. Not a sound in miles, save for the wind that blew through the metal tubes of the junkyard, leaving a low musical hum…  “Hey Andrew...” Andy grumbled as his sister distrubed the peace. “You suppose Uncle Maxie will come back soon?”</p><p>“We better hope so…” Andy said, “otherwise we won’t eat. Haven’t had a customer in weeks.” And with that he turned over, not wishing to continue the conversation any further, his arms still wrapped tightly around the unfinished cola bottle. Ann gave a little huff, feeling neglected, as she sat in front of the work desk. Closing her eyes softly, she followed in her brother’s footsteps and tried to find comfort in the silence.</p><p> </p><p>-------</p><p> </p><p>It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours, but eventually the meditative peace of the two siblings was broken by the deafening honk of an approaching vehicle. “Uncle Maxie’s back!” Ann jumped up from the desk and ran to the front of the garage, grabbing the pant leg of her brother’s overalls as she went, nearly dragging him off the hood of the car.</p><p>“Ann-wait, c’mon! My cola!!” Andy wrapped his arm around the bottle like his life depended on it, as he struggled to find balance while sliding off the car. He followed after his sister as she ran to the front of the garage and watched as their Uncle Maxie’s tow truck pulled towards them. As it moved between the mountains of scrap within the junkyard, a car fancier than Ann and Andy had ever seen was dragged behind it by a rusted hook and chain. </p><p>“Good God!” Andy exclaimed, “is that a Phantom Rolls Royce?! Who th’ hell can afforda car like that?!” He chugged down his cola in disbelief and tossed the emptied bottle into the scrap heap.</p><p>Ann nervously thumbed the bottle cap pin on her overall straps, “Not anybody in this parta town, that’s for sure…”</p><p>The two siblings watched as their Uncle Maxie stepped out of the tow truck, and happily waved at them with his bowler hat in his hands. As he smiled, the tips of his mustache, now greyed with age, curled upward, as if it were smiling at them too. “Ann, Andy! C’mere and-a give me a hand, won’t you?” </p><p>“On it, Uncle Maxie,” Andy shouted, as he rushed past Ann, stopping briefly to give their Uncle a hug, and hopped onto the tow truck to work on releasing the Phantom chained to it. </p><p>Ann approached her Uncle more tepidly and gave him a warm embrace. “Aww, it’s good to see ya, Uncle Maxie.” She peeked over at the shiny car he brought back with him. “How’d ya find a car like this?”</p><p>“Well, you know that towing company that’s-a been runnin’ us outta business?”</p><p>“The Blue Camel company?”</p><p>“That’s-a the one! Well as-a I was driving through the big city to find a car in-a need of fixin’, I spotted that Phantom at the end-a the street. So as I was-a drivin’ down, I ran one of those Blue Camel trucks offa the road, to keep’em from getting there first!”</p><p>Ann looked at him with her mouth agape and her eyes wider than saucers. Sometimes she wished her Uncle wouldn’t tell her these things so freely. It’s harder to lie to the police when she’s been burdened with the truth.</p><p>As Ann and Uncle Maxie moved towards the back of the truck, Maxie pulled Ann aside for a moment. “Uhh Annie, keep-a an eye on your brother for me, eh? This-a customer of ours seems really-a high class.” His eyes shifted about for a moment as he whispered “<em>We might be able to buy some real food, for once</em> .” Ann swallowed and nodded as Uncle Maxie quickly reverted to his jovial self and patted her on the back, almost knocking the wind out of her. “So be-a on your best-a behavior!”</p><p>As her Uncle moved to the back of the truck to where Andy was, Ann fashioned her gaze onto the silhouette sitting in the passenger’s seat. “<em> Uncle Maxie’s always said hospitality is the sincerest form of flattery,</em> ” Ann thought, and quickly made her way to the passenger side door. “Um...hi there!” She said, “We’ve got soda and water in the garage if you’d like to wait there! My family and I will have your car fixed up in a jiffy, Mister uh…”</p><p>The car door popped open, as a black heel stepped forward onto the rusted dirt. A wide-brimmed hat adorned with extravagant flowers and ribbons concealed the face of its owner in a maroon shadow. Yellow curls shone bright in the sunlight, and extended far lower than Ann had ever seen anyone’s hair go before, enveloping the mysterious customer’s shoulders and back. To Ann, it almost looked like a lion’s mane, curled and proud. As the customer stepped out, yards of ruby fabric from her dress and petticoats spilled out of the car and swayed idly in the summer heat, and as she stood to her full height, she towered above Ann. Ann made her gaze upward and was met with the intense stare of two wide blue eyes. Scrutinized under their intense gaze, Ann felt smaller than she ever had before. But her kindness would not be deterred. </p><p>She extended her hand. “Hi there, Miss! I’m Ann, it’s a real pleasure to meet ya!”</p><p>The customer looked down at the hand before her, analyzing every blister and oil stained nail, as she gracefully removed her own fingers from her red leather gloves. She reached forward and shook Ann’s hand with a deliberate firmness. Not enough for it to hurt, but just tight enough that she wouldn’t be able to escape her grasp if she tried to get away.</p><p>The mysterious woman spoke with a slow French accent. “You may call me...Babette.” She gave Ann’s hand a firm shake.</p><p>“Well gee, it’s real nice to meetcha Miss Babette!” Ann said, “My Uncle and my brother Andy are workin’ on your car right now, suppose ya wanna go back and meet’em too, and we can find out what the damage is!” She gave a sheepish smile as she loosened the grip on Babette’s hand, feeling the tension sink in when the French woman refused to loosen her own grip. She smiled at Ann through half-lidded eyes, and slowly alleviated the hold she had on her, watching with a snake-like delight as Ann’s finger slipped free, one by one. “Uh...right this way, Miss Babette,” Ann said, as she led her to the back of the truck.</p><p>As they released the Phantom from the tow truck, Uncle Maxie and Andy smiled at Ann. She went and stood beside her brother, while Maxie turned his attention to their customer.</p><p>“<em> Who's the broad? </em>” Andy whispered to Ann.</p><p>“<em> Don’t be rude Andrew!</em> ” Ann whispered back. <em>“ Uncle Maxie says she might pay us big if we do a good job.” </em></p><p>The two siblings watched as their Uncle chatted with Babette, feeling somewhat sympathetic as their round little uncle craned his neck skyward to meet her gaze. She must have been 6 feet tall, at least, maybe even more than that. </p><p>Ann and Andy dutifully stood by, feeling sweat drip down their foreheads and their hands grow clammier by the minute as their uncle chatted for what seemed like hours. Eventually Uncle Maxie turned his attention back to them as Babette made her way to the front of the Phantom.</p><p>“Annie,” Uncle Max said, “pop-a the hood up, will you? I think-a something might be wrong with the engine!”</p><p>“Ok Uncle Maxie!” Ann trotted up to the front of the car where Babette was waiting and hooked her hands under the hood of the car. “Let’s see what the trouble is.”</p><p>As she lifted the hood, the two of them were quickly engulfed in a cloud of smoke. Lazy black clouds billowed up towards the sky, and for a brief moment it felt as if the world was composed of just Ann, Babette, and the smoking Phantom. It’s pungent smell and heated embrace somehow felt comforting, as they were closed off from the world in its soft void. As the black clouds ascended, they playfully wrapped themselves in Babette’s curls and gently stroked at Ann’s cheeks. Ann looked at Babette and gave her a reassuring smile, so as to quell any anxious feelings she might have had at the sight of her fuming car, but the aristocrat’s mind was far from that. In this surreal morphing void, she felt herself falter in a way she never had before, seeing only Ann’s smile in their private little cloud.  Babette looked back at Ann, her eyes never straying from her gaze. She remained transfixed, entranced,</p><p>
  <em>Enamored.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>---------------------</p><p> </p><p>“It’ll need a new engine,” Uncle Maxie said. He peered down into the car’s interior and wiped the sweat from his forehead, his beloved bowler hat long since discarded and placed upon the derelict desk in the office. </p><p>“And a good one, too,” Andy said. “This ain’t no ordinary car, it’s got all those,” he waved his hands about, “<em>fancy</em>parts.”</p><p>“It’s gonna cost a lot to order an engine part like that…” Ann said. She quietly peaked behind her shoulder to look at Babette who was leaning against a mountain of scrap heap, her arms crossed. Even under the dark shade of her sun hat, Ann could tell that Babette was still looking at her, her gaze unwavering. As their eyes met Babette blinked and suddenly found interest in an abandoned pinwheel spinning lazily in the summer heat. It proudly stood upon the abandoned scraps of a rusted oldsmobile. “Are we gonna be able to afford an engine like that, Uncle Maxie?” Ann whispered.</p><p>Uncle Maxie lightly chewed at the bottom of his lip. “I...don’t think so, Annie…” An idea came to him. “Unless…”</p><p>“Unless…”</p><p>“Unless…”</p><p>Uncle Maxie turned to look at his niece and nephew, the three of them sharing the same mischievous grin. They could always get spare parts from their latest haul… The family of mechanics all turned to look back at Babette, who was now feeling befuddled under the combined weight of their sly grins.</p><p>“Vell?” She said, “Vhat is zhe prognosis?”</p><p>“You’re in luck, Miss!” Uncle Maxie twirled the ends of his mustache and gave a cheshire grin. “We have-a spare parts in the back! My niece-a and nephew will have your car fixed up by the end of the day.” Uncle Maxie turned back and waved his hand at Ann and Andy, signaling them to get to work. Babette watched as the two red-headed twins began clamoring up over a hill of rusted junk and disappeared over its horizon. “You can-a wait in the office, Miss, until our work-a here is done-”</p><p>“-Vait just a moment,” Babette said, her voice stern and commandeering. She made her way to the backseat of the Phantom and kicked off her high heels. Uncle Maxie, his nosiness getting the better of him, peered into the backseat, surveying its contents. A thick black coat was neatly folded up, with a dress shirt and tie folded in the same meticulous manner. Babette quickly placed her heels on the floor of the car’s interior and reached for a pair of black and white leather Oxfords. As she hastily put on the Oxfords and tied them into cobra-tight knots, Uncle Maxie took note of how well the business shoes fit her.</p><p>“Wow Miss,” Uncle Maxie said, “your-a husband sure has some dainty feet.”</p><p>“Husband?” Babette scoffed and threw her head back in an awkward fit of laughter. With each gasping laugh her body shook, and her refined facade momentarily receded. “I have no time for such things!” When her fit began to subside, she grabbed the ends of her skirts by the fists and began trodding after Andy and Ann, making long decisive strides as she ascended the pile of shining red scrap.</p><p> </p><p>--------------</p><p> </p><p>Andy tossed the cerulean tarp up and off to the side, paying little mind to how the wind caught it and stole it away. As the newly claimed tarp billowed through the air, it floated beyond the confines of the junkyard’s wooden fence, and made its way down the barren roads of the copper town like a manta ray skimming the ocean floor.</p><p>“Andrew, that was our last good tarp,” Ann said. She huffed and squinted at the sight before them. Nearly blinding them in its reflective light was a Silver Ghost Torpedo, an earlier model to Babette’s Phantom. Amidst the sanguine junkyard, the Silver Ghost emitted a pompous lightshow in a manner reflective of the big city it had come from, and quickly asserted its status as something far superior than the poor copper town it had now found itself trapped in.</p><p>“Figure the engine from here should work just fine,” Andy said. As the two twins popped the hood of the Silver Ghost, its light began to dance about the junkyard. Reflective speckles chased each other throughout the metal mountains, and briefly dipped into the pool blue eyes of Babette. She tipped her hat lower, barring the light from trespassing any further, and scoffed from atop the metallic pile.</p><p>“I vhas <em>vondering</em> how anyone in zhis town could afford an engine like mine!” She boldly made her descent towards the siblings, making deft steps upon the uneven scrap, never once looking down to assure her footing. Andy felt a tinge of jealousy as he watched her. He’d trip up on the scrap piles almost every other day, and yet somehow this hoity-toity <em>pill</em> of a woman was able to get around like she owned the place! As her oxfords, now beginning to stain red, made impact with the ground she quickly strided towards the two siblings, closing the gap between her and Ann more so than any other customer had before. She wrinkled her nose and scrutinized the car before them. “How on Earth did you two mange to acquire a car such as zhis? <em>Les petits voleurs,</em> did you steal it?”</p><p>“No, no! Of course not!” Ann waved her hands about in a panic, her fingertips lightly swatting at the top of Babette’s hat on accident. “I-it was uh, graciously donated by-”</p><p>Andy placed his hands upon his sister’s shoulders and used them to momentarily propel himself  upward, quieting his sister and, <em>briefly</em>, putting him eye-to-eye with Babette. “We won it fair and square, that’s how!”</p><p>Babette raised her eyebrows in intrigue. “Von it? How so?”</p><p>Andy puffed out his chest and clamored onto the top of the Silver Ghost. “Don’t you know? Me and Ann are the best roadsters in town! Folks from all over town come to challenge us to drag races, and they’ve <em>never</em>beaten us!” He plopped down upon the Silver Ghost and patted its roof. “And the losers always have to forfeit their cars. This was our best haul yet, we got it from that washed-up bootlegger, <em>The Captain</em>.”</p><p>“Zhe Captain?” A puff of air escaped Babette’s lips, as scanned over the car. Her body began to tremble a little. “Zhat pathetic foole of a man, lost to the likes of you…!?” A few more puffs escaped, as Babette erupted into a laughing frenzy. She gripped the side of the Silver Ghost for support, all the while laughing and gasping as if the world had suddenly lost all its air. “A-And now his engine, *gasp* hehehhahahaaa!! Is being repurposed to fix my car, hehahahahaaaaahhaaaa!!” Ann and Andy watched as Babette shook and shuddered, her laughing fit most awkward to be held captive listening to. As she began to come down, she wiped a tear and let out a sigh. “Zhis foolish man...he has been swindled out of <em>everything!</em>” </p><p>Andy raised his eyes incredulously and slid down from the car, protectively putting himself in front of Ann. “Swindlin’ eh? Is that how you make your money, toots?” </p><p>Babette chuckled, and pulled out a decorated cigarette box from her pockets. As the cubeb hung loosely from her lips, she smirked at Andy, her gaze slowly shifting to Ann peering from over his shoulder. “Ohohoho~...vouldn’t you like to know?”</p><p>         </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Scrapyard Sandwiches</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“<em>That weird lady still lookin’?</em>” Andy whispered to Ann.</p><p>Ann felt too timid to look behind her as she and her brother peered down into the Silver Ghost’s front interior. As the day had transpired their aberrant customer had been following them about, observing their every move with intense cerulean eyes. When Ann and Andy ventured upon the cardinal scrap mountains Babette was always right behind them, her steps much quieter and more graceful than theirs could ever hope to be. And now, as they worked within the shady interior of the garage, Babette was right there, sitting behind them.</p><p>As a metal wrench fell to the floor with a reverberating clang, Ann knelt down and used the opportunity to covertly peer back behind her. With the emerald lights crawling about the back of the garage walls, Babette sat, her legs crossed, in the center of one of the green spotlights. In her hands she held a magazine she brought from home, the words <em>La Vie Parisienne</em>written out in elegant cursive. Ann observed the magazine, taking in its warm colors, its intricate design, the delicately painted nails that lightly gripped the edges of its papers, the deep blue eyes that peered back at her from behind the cover-</p><p>Ann immediately turned around, her face flushed, as she went back to work. In her moment of embarrassment Andy broke through the silence with the staccato popping of his back as he stretched. “I’ll be right back Ann,” he said, “gotta go to the bathroom.”</p><p>“<em>Wait,</em>” Ann hissed, “<em>don’t leave me alone with her! </em>” Andy held his knuckles in front of his mouth, trying his best to conceal a snicker, as he walked over to the door adjoining the office and the garage. He opened it up, and grabbed the key hanging from the office side of the door, giving his Uncle Maxi a small wave before closing it. As he turned and walked towards the back door of the garage he gave Ann a smug look, the only kind that brothers could give to their sisters when they wanted to annoy them, and walked through the door, closing it behind him as he went. </p><p>Ann wringed her fingers, and poured all her attention into the Silver Ghost, not daring to look behind her. As the clock ticked by, its metronome sounds echoing into the lonely garage, Ann felt her anxiety grow with each reverberating knock. She knew Babette was staring at her, and to be scanned over by a woman of her stature shook her to the core.</p><p>
  <em>She’d have to look back at her eventually...</em>
</p><p>Ann steeled her nerves, and gave a nervous glance back to where Babette was sitting, only to find, much to her surprise, a magazine folded in her place. As she turned back, she quickly found herself face to face with Babette’s sternum. Nervously looking up, those intense blue eyes stared back at her, wide with interest.</p><p>“So,” she said, “how are zhings progressing?”</p><p>“O-oh!” Ann jumped back a little in surprise as she fidgeted with her buttons. “It’s going along well…” Her eyes darted about, looking every which way but Babette’s eyes. With every step she took back, Babette would take a step forward, mirroring her movements like some kind of interrogative waltz. Babette seemed rapt with interest. “We’ve got the engine all set to transfer over,” Ann said, “but first we…-”</p><p>“We gotta break for lunch first,” Andy interjected. “It’s 12 o’clock.” As he emerged from the door, he shot Babette a stern glance, taking note of the distance (or lack thereof) between her and Ann.</p><p>Babette gave a small hum and stepped back away from Ann, so as to quell the protective nature dormant in Andy. She watched with Ann as Andy stepped back into the comforting shadows of the garage and made his way to the small mini-fridge in the corner, squatting down to peruse its contents. “Whaddya guys wanna eat? We got uh…” He looked about the near-empty fridge. “Couple’a bottles of cola and an old banana…”</p><p>“You don’t have anyzhing else to eat?” Babette tilted her head to the side.</p><p>Ann shook her head, and spoke in a sad hushed tone. “Not ‘til our next paycheck comes in…”</p><p>“Vell!” Babette clasped her hands together, “zhat simply von’t do!” She made her way to the front seat of the Phantom, and pulled out a small and elegant maroon purse, slipping its short strap onto her forearm. “Come on,” she said, as her form was engulfed by the brilliant light of the outside.</p><p>“Wh...where are we going?” Ann and Andy followed after her into the bright void.</p><p>“To get lunch, my treat, mon cheri!”</p><p> </p><p>----------</p><p> </p><p>“Gimme an egg salad sandwich, Socko!” Andy eagerly peered through the glass divider between him and the sandwich contents while Socko, the nervous and spindly deli owner, stood idly by. “With cheddar and parmesan too!”</p><p>“Andrew…” Ann lightly chided.</p><p>“Oh right! Uh, <em>please</em>.” Andy watched intensely as Socko began to put the sandwich together. “-And can ya put paprika on the eggs too?” Socko huffed as he finished preparing Andy's sandwich.</p><p>“And what can I get for ya, ma’am?” Socko set aside the sandwich and prepared to make a new one for Ann.</p><p>“Um, meatball marinara for me, please,” Ann said softly.</p><p>Babette gave a side-eyed glance and fought back the urge to smile at Ann’s lofty order. As she cleared her throat she reverted back to her hard-nosed demeanor. “Club sandvich for me, please. <em>Footlong</em>.” Perhaps she was a bit of a hypocrite, too.</p><p>Ann scooted closer to Babette, and stood on the tips of her toes, trying her best to whisper in her ear. “<em>Are ya sure it’s no trouble, Babette? Payin’ for us?</em>”</p><p>Babette swayed towards Ann, lightly bumping shoulders with her. “<em>Oh please, I could buy zhis whole place out if I wanted to</em>.” She gave Ann a warm smile, but it just as quickly disappeared when she made her way to the counter to pay. As the sandwiches were handed off to her and her brother, Ann wondered about Babette’s stern demeanor. How long had she been this way, that her walls could be put up this quickly and naturally?</p><p>As the trio exited the deli, Andy stopped in his tracks, taking notice of someone across the street. “CLEM!!” The figure in the distance, a tall weathered man in a kilt, looked towards the group and gave an enthusiastic wave.</p><p>“ANDY LADDIE!”</p><p>“CLEM! YOU OL’ SONUVABITCH, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CALL WHEN YOU WERE BASED BACK IN TOWN!”</p><p>“WELL I’M SORRY LADDIE, I JUST GOT BACK TODAY-”</p><p>“OH, YOU SHOULDA CALLED, WE COULD’VE COME AND PICKED YOU UP-”</p><p>“OH WELL, YA KNOW LADDIE I LIKE TO GET ME CARDIO NOW AND THEN-</p><p>“STOP YELLING, <em>MERDE</em>, JUST VALK ACROSS ZHE STREET!!” </p><p>Ann, now temporarily deaf, followed Andy and Babette as they made their way to Clem. When they stepped across the middle boundary of the road Andy broke into a sprint and slammed full force into Clem. Despite the brunt impact, Clem hardly budged, instead remaining firmly in place like a brick wall. He warmly took Andy by the shoulders and playfully shook him. “Andy, laddie! It’s so good to see ya again! How’ve ya been!?” As Andy was lightly rattled about, a warm glow radiated from him, his smile wide and content. Even though his affections were seldom spoken in public, they were clearly read on his face. Though unsure of the exact nature of Andy and Clem’s relationship, Ann and Uncle Maxi knew that the two of them had a special connection. There would be mornings where Ann would walk into the living room and see her brother climbing into the window, softly pleading with his sister not to tell Uncle Maxi about his whereabouts that evening. Ann knew that her brother would want to spend all his free time with Clem now that he was back in town, for his work as an army surgeon often had him traveling about with the rest of his troop. While the Great War had ceased, there was still work to be done cleaning up the aftermath.</p><p>“Andy,” Ann gently tapped his shoulder,, “why don’t we meet you back at the shop after lunch?”</p><p>Andy looked at Ann with an extra twinkle in his eye. “Ya mean it Ann?”</p><p>“Yeah! Go have fun, we’ll meet up with you later.”</p><p>“Whoopee!” Andy looped his arm around Clem’s and excitedly began tugging at him. “C’mon Clem! I’ll split my sandwich with ya!” As Ann watched her brother and Clem move down the road, she turned back to look at Babette, the nervous pit in her stomach having subsided a bit.</p><p> </p><p>--------------------</p><p> </p><p>From atop the highest crimson mountain made of scrap, was a golden yellow umbrella with the words “AnN ANd AnDY’s FOrT” childishly embroidered on a scrap of cloth that was sewn onto the side. The weathered pole from which the umbrella was secured descended down through a hole in the roof of a teal truck, long since discarded by its owners. The front half of the truck was soundly buried in junk, while it’s cargo bed jutted out from the side of the mountain, making for the perfect fort, as Ann and Andy had claimed so long ago as children.</p><p>Bathed in the golden glow of the umbrella’s reflection, Ann and Babette sat with their legs dangling down from the cargo bed, eating in silence. During the brief time that had transpired since Andy had departed from the group, Ann had grown more comfortable around Babette. The silence between them now was something more of a warming familiarity rather than an awkward tension. But nonetheless, Ann sat up, and tried to remain poised in the presence of her aristocratic companion. </p><p>She placidly looked over at Babette, taking in her regal posture. Even under the merciless heat, she remained unwavering and elegant, the only signs of her discomfort made present through her flushed cheeks and matted bangs. Ann mirrored Babette’s behavior, and straightened her back as well. Surely this is how fancy ladies sat when in the company of one another. As she continued to survey Babette in discreet detail, Ann took notice of how her pinky fingers pointed skyward, while the rest of her grip elegantly wrapped about the sandwich. The footlong sandwich that was….almost finished. <em>They had only been sitting there for three minutes. </em>Ann looked in surprise at her own lunch, which she had barely made a dent in, and wondered how such a posh woman like Babette could consume food like that so quickly.</p><p><em>Consuming</em>, Ann quickly found, was a word that aptly described Babette. Her whole presence emitted a hunger like Ann had never felt before. As they sat upon the cargo bed, its metal frame moaning with creaks, the wind billowed past them and lapped about Babette’s skirts, causing the fabrics to grope about like a deep-sea kraken, hungry and never satiated. Her golden hair searched about her shoulders and neck like an amorphous creature searching for a weak spot, and her entire being was wrapped in an imposing aura. Sitting beside her in the dusty quiet, Ann wondered why a woman from the city like Babette would hold such a rough presence, unfitting for a lady of her status. It was funny, Ann thought, even though Babette was from the city, she blended in seamlessly with the scrap piles around her. With her maroon dress gently billowing with the wind, Babette almost looked like a Queen of the cardinal rust mountains.</p><p> </p><p>-------------</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Miss Babbette,” Ann lazily swung her leg and watched as a stray can bounced down the scrap, leaving hollow metal sounds as it went, “how do you know The Captain?” She remembered the boisterous laughter that rendered Babette into a gasping mess at the mere mention of him earlier and wondered how Babette could ever find herself in the company of someone like The Captain.</p><p>‘The Captain,’ despite his high ranking title, was not a man who was easily respected, nor warmly regarded between the citizens of the silver cities and little copper towns. He had earned that name based upon the condition that no one could remember, nor had bothered to learn his real name, so people instead referred to him as ‘The Captain,’due to his work owning a pirate-themed seafood restaurant. His nightlife however, was much seedier than that of the jolly sailor facade he put up during the day, whereupon each evening he would transform his tacky restaurant into a speakeasy loaded with booze and cocktails. The covert pub was always popular with navy men given its close locale to the docks, and as such The Captain’s main staff of bouncers and rum runners mostly consisted of cynical sailors who had grown weary of lives commanded by spittle-spouting generals. His speakeasy was not the worst to be found within city limits, but it certainly wasn’t the best, and as such it had been closed and abandoned for over half a year now. The poor bastard didn’t even get to go out the honorable way with a police hold up, such as the way other speakeasies had gone out before. People just...stopped showing up, and he was forced to close shop for good. From time to time, he would appear out of the blue, boisterously announcing himself and challenging anyone he could find for a spot at their title. He would challenge anyone from the best arm-wrestlers in town to whole squads of Boy Scout troops, but the unchanging fact of the matter was, he would lose to all he opposed. On the day he had to forfeit his Silver Ghost to Ann and Andy, the copper townies spectating their drag race jeered and threw metal cans at him as if he were a wild bear they were trying to rid themselves of.</p><p>
  <em>How on Earth would Babette know a man like him..?</em>
</p><p>Babette gave a little huff, her lips already curling up into a mischievous smile she was failing to suppress, as she crumpled up her finished sandwich wrapper and gently placed it to the side (Ann, on the other hand, had only just begun her meal). “I vhas unfortunate enough to catch his attention, you see... As I vhas strolling downtown he saw me through zhe vindows of zhat <em>gaudy</em>shack he dared to call a restaurant and pursued me endlessly.” She paused for a moment, and gathered her thoughts. “For zhe next month, my life vas plagued by zhat filthy beast. He vanted to, how you say, ‘pluck zhe flower of paradise,’ yes?” Ann covered her mouth in surprise. “Zhat man never even got to <em>touch</em>me. Vhen zhe day came, and his pathetic leetle restaurant vas bought out, I vhas there to stare him in zhe face at his lowest moment.” She chuckled, “I never had to see him again after zhat.”</p><p>Ann looked at Babette, her surprised eyes never leaving her gaze even as she took a bite of her sandwich. “Gosh, Miss Babette,” she said with her mouth half full, “I’m so sorry, having to deal with something like that.”</p><p>“Oh, it’s quite alright chèrie…” For a brief moment the winds were calm and Babette’s whole disposition seemed serene and at peace. She looked at Ann, her cheeks tinted rosy from the summer heat, and smiled warmly at her. “At zhe very least, zhere is today…  and it is always a grace to be in zhe company of someone as warm as you, Ann. People like you are a rarity in zhe city…”</p><p>Ann shrunk her shoulders down, feeling embarrassed and flattered, and turned away to hide her cheeky grin. “Ohhh, gosshhh, thank you Babette..!”  Babette gave a little hum as she lit a cigarette. As a wispy tower of smoke escaped from her lips she relaxed her shoulders and tilted her head back, taking in the quiet comfort of the summer heat with Ann. Still reeling from the compliment, Ann happily swayed about, taking little bites of her sandwich as she went.</p><p>When their lunch hour came to an end, Ann and Babette spotted Andy as he entered into the junkyard. Ann stood atop the cargo bed and cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, so that she could greet her brother the same way they did when they were children. “HOIIIIIIIIIII!!”</p><p>Babette, charmed by this endearing interaction, laughed heartily and stood up alongside Ann, waving her hands above her head. “HOIIIIIIIIIII!”</p><p>And then Andy, looking up and spotting the two gleeful ladies from the top of the scrap heap, joined in on the amusement. He puffed up his chest, and gave it his all. “HOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”</p><p> </p><p>----------</p><p> </p><p>“Alright miss Babette, I think we’re just about done!” Ann plucked an old patchwork rag from her overalls and gently dabbed away the black oil stains on her cheeks. “If you’ll just do us the honors of testing out the new engine, we should be all set!”</p><p>Babette nodded, and positioned herself onto the front seat of the Phantom, placing her heel on the gas pedal.</p><p>“Let’er roar!” Andy shouted.</p><p>Babette put the pedal to the metal with full force, causing the garage to reverberate with the thunderous roar of the Phantom’s new engine. The gleeful cheers of the little garage trio were all but swallowed up by the engine’s proud thrum, as Babette tipped her head back laughing with glee, and Ann and Andy danced about and jeered. “We did it Andy! It’s fixed!” Next door in the office the pictures on the wall rattled about, and the ones with weaker tacks plummeted down with a resounding crash. The little knick knacks that adorned Uncle Maxi’s desk jittered and jumped about in a seizure-like shimmy.</p><p>“Well, I suppose-a the engine’s fixed…” Uncle Maxi mused tiredly. He hoisted himself up from his chair with a grunt and made his way into the garage, taking care not to tumble over from the mini-earthquake happening next door. He popped his head through the entryway and tipped his bowler hat at Babette. “How’s the-, How is the- TAKE-A YOUR FOOT OFFA THE PEDAL ALREADY!!!....How is the new-a engine, Miss Babette?”</p><p>“Oh it’s doing vonderfully, monsieur!” Babette stepped back out of the Phantom and gave a nod towards Ann and Andy. “You have wonderful mechanics.”</p><p>“Taught them everything-a I know!” Maxi beamed with pride and gestured towards the office. “Now Miss, shall we discuss-a the payment?”</p><p>“Qui.” Babette collected her purse and stepped into the office as Uncle Maxi closed the door behind her, leaving the two siblings to themselves.</p><p>Andy looked over at his sister, who was swaying her little head side to side in a gentle samba. “Alright spill,” Andy said, and playfully nudged Ann with his elbow. “What’s got you actin’ all happy, huh? I thought that Babette lady creeped you out a lil’.”</p><p>“Ohh, I don’t knooowww,” Ann said in a mushy tone. “She’s not so bad once ya get to know her! We had a real nice lunch together!” She clasped her hands together and made little circles on the floor with the tips of her work boots. “She even said I was nice.”</p><p>“Ohhh, is that it, huh? Ya winnin’ over fancy city ladies now, huh?” Andy leaned into Ann’s side, putting most of his weight on her and nearly toppling them both over. “Just be careful, Ann. Those hoity-toity types can be real tricky ones.” Despite his jovial tone,  Andy still remembered all those days his sister would come home blue and unloved. No matter how sweet her little candy heart may have been, she seldom met anyone, let alone another gal, who would reciprocate her affections, and there would be days where Ann would feel melancholy remembering that grim fact about her life and the world she lived in. “Don’t want ya gettin’ hurt out there, ok?”</p><p>“Aww, I’ll be ok Andrew.” Ann punched him in the shoulder. “You big ol softie, I love you!”</p><p>Andy smiled cheekily and rubbed his shoulder. That one was going to smart for sure. Within a few moments the office door popped open as Babette stepped through, writing in a little checkbook as she walked. “Zhank you again for your hospitality, monsieur. Zhis vas certainly a pleasant day!” She plucked the dusty pink check out from the little booklet and handed it off to Uncle Maxie. As she made her way to the Phantom, Uncle Maxie stood with his mouth agape.</p><p>“U-Uh...Miss! I think-a you paid too much!” Stricken with curiosity, Andy strided over to his uncle, and peered over his shoulder. His jaw dropped likewise, as the two of them stood there resembling fish trapped on land.</p><p>“Vell, consider it a bonus,” Babette popped open the front door of the Phantom and turned to face Ann. “For zhe <em>lovely</em>hospitality, today.” She gently took her hand and rubbed little circles on the back of her hand with her thumb. As she smiled tenderly at her the light of the setting sun dashed into the garage and illuminated her hair like a shining halo. She dipped her head low, causing the golden light to caress Ann’s cheeks with its warmth, and placed a delicate kiss to her fingers, leaving behind a ruby mark. At the mere contact of her lips, Ann froze up, as if she had come face to face with medusa herself. With a satisfied smirk Babette stepped into the Phantom, leaving the family of mechanics speechless and slack jawed. The proud Phantom roared once more, as Babette departed from the shadows of the garage, swallowed by the golden rays of the outside light.</p><p>Ann stood motionless, her hand trembling a little. Her gaze was so intensely fixed on the little rouge mark at the center of her dark oil-stricken hand, her mind racing and morphing in the surreal void of her thoughts. Within the quiet echoes of the garage, she could hear her Uncle sniffling, snapping her out of her thoughts.</p><p>“Uncle Maxi…?” She turned back to see her uncle as he held the little check in his trembling hands. A never ending stream of tears poured from his eyes as he sunk to the ground. “Maxi...Uncle Maxi what’s wrong?” Ann and Andy slunk down next to him and tried to console their Uncle. Andy looked over at Ann and pointed at the check. Babette had paid them an extra 100 dollars for the job. That was enough for nearly two months of rent. Uncle Maxi brought his chin down to his torso, as memories came flooding back to him.</p><p> </p><p>-----------</p><p> </p><p>There was a time once, when Uncle Maxi was simply known as Maxi Fixit. There was a time when he still had a full head of hair, and a brown mustache, and he was simply living from paycheck to paycheck with little thought for the moments in between.</p><p>And there was a time when he met Ann and Andy.</p><p>Maxi Fixit walked between the narrow alleys of the copper town, taking what refuge he could from the rain. He tipped his hat low, and secured his arm about the brown paper bag filled with groceries. There was just enough in there for one good dinner, he thought he’d use what he could from his paycheck to treat himself. As he followed the path of running street water, his eyes caught two small figures hiding within the shadows of his periphery.</p><p>“Um….excuse me.” A little voice cut through the rain, small and crackling. Maxi stopped and looked down a nearby alley, its streets concealed by the shadows. “Excuse me…” Stepping into the cobalt haze of the clouded rainy sky were two small children dressed in dirtied dresses and rompers. Their hair was shaggy and red, and their knees were dirty and bruised, and they looked up at Maxi with sullen, malnourished eyes. One of them stepped forward, while the other cautiously stayed behind, peering over their sibling’s shoulder at Maxi with feral eyes.</p><p>“We’re sorry to bother you,” the little girl said, “but...we couldn’t find any food today…” Her focus shifted over to the grocery bag securely held in Maxi’s arms. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything to spare...would you?”</p><p>Maxi’s breath hitched, as the concern in him grew. “Where-a….where are your parents?”</p><p>The little girl shook her head. “We never met’em.”</p><p>The younger one muttered from behind the little girl. “...we ran away from th’ orphanage…” </p><p>Maxi wet his lips nervously, and removed his hat to scratch his head. “That’s...that’s not-a right...children should have-a parents…to take...care of them…” His voice trailed off. He could feel the point of no return encroaching upon him as he met their gaze.</p><p>
  <em>It was too late now...he couldn’t leave them alone.</em>
</p><p>Strands of spaghetti swirled about a copper pot like serpents in a serene spiral. As the little golden strands slowly spun about, the two children stood upon a shared wooden stepping stool and watched the food cook with hungry little eyes. </p><p>“Come here,” Maxi motioned one of the children towards him, and caught the attention of the more docile child. She stepped down from the stool and walked towards Maxi, as he gently dabbed a warm washcloth adorned with soft soap bubbles at her cheeks. “There we go, that’s-a better!” He glanced at the little girl’s tattered dress, and noticed a nametag crudely sewn onto it, undoubtedly a product of her time in the orphanage. “Now you're-a all clean, Ann!”</p><p>The little girl beamed, her cheeks free from dirt for the first time in what seemed like months as she gave a polite little nod. “Thank you mister!”</p><p>Maxi smiled warmly at her. “Of course, little Ann. You can-a call me Maxi.”</p><p>“Ok, Uncle Maxi!”</p><p>“Oh, really, Maxi will do just fi-” but before he could finish, Ann had already gone off to show off her clean face to the other little girl. She took her sister by the hand and gently walked back over to Uncle Maxi.</p><p>“Go on,” she said softly. The other little girl timidly stepped up to Uncle Maxi, her grip never releasing from Ann’s hand, as she looked at Uncle Maxi with a deep intensity. </p><p>“And uh, what-a would your name be,” Uncle Maxi nervously looked at the little girl’s name tag as he gently dabbed at her cheeks. “Andre-”</p><p>“It’s Andy!!!”</p><p>Uncle Maxie was taken aback for a moment. “Pardon?”</p><p>“It’s Andy! My name is Andy!”</p><p>“O-oh…” Uncle Maxie paused for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “Well-a, it’s a very <em>brave </em>name, Andy!”</p><p>Andy paused for a moment, as the tension in the room began to ebb away a bit, as Uncle Maxi pulled the cloth away smiling. “Dinner should be ready soon!” He stood up and began to prepare their dishes, as the two children followed him about the house, feeling comforted by the warm glow radiating from him and the smell of freshly cooked food.</p><p>The children eagerly took their seats at the table, sitting patiently as Uncle Maxi set their plates in front of them. He sat down at the head of the table and gave the children a beaming smile. “Eat up!” Ann and Andy began to dig into their meals, desperately trying to satiate their long-standing hunger. As they ate, Maxi quietly scanned over them, seeing more and more signs of their neglect. His mind began to race with all the ways he would need to take care of them now. He supposed he would forfeit his bed, for starters, and sleep on the couch so they’d have somewhere soft to rest their heads, but soon they’d need their own beds too. And tomorrow he figured he’d buy them new clothes, ones without name tags. He’d need to talk to his neighbor Susie soon, too, and see if she had any spare band-aids for Ann and Andy’s knees and knuckles. </p><p>But most of all, they’d need to eat, Maxi thought. They’d need to eat until they were fat, and roly-poly, and loved beyond their years.</p><p> </p><p>-----------------</p><p> </p><p>“Uncle Maxi,” Ann shook him lightly by the shoulder, “are you ok?”</p><p>Uncle Maxi looked up at Ann and Andy, his mustache now drenched from all the tears. Tonight, he would go grocery shopping and make them spaghetti for dinner like old times.</p><p>           </p><p>And one day, when he could afford it, he’d give them the world.</p><p> </p><p>           </p><p>           </p><p>           </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Broken Car Blues</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a big ol' meaty chapter, but it was a lotta fun to write up!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the people of the Silver Cities, Sundays were a time of begrudging obligation. It was a time of reluctantly waking up at dawn and tightening their necks with choking ties and brooches, and hurriedly ushering their families into the car to drive off into the misty mornings. It was a time of competing for space in crowded church parking lots, and struggling to stay awake in the pews. It was, as the churches had put it, a time for prayer. And so they did. And those who amassed their fortunes upon the backs of others prayed with more vigor than others.</p><p>Prayer was seldom practiced in the Copper towns, however. The metallic air they were forced to breathe in every day slowly ebbed away at their ability to believe that <em>anything </em>was looking out in their best interests. But on Sundays they gambled on their beliefs, and knelt down in prayer. The martyrs didn’t pray for happiness, nor did the drunkards pray for forgiveness, but collectively the abandoned town got together and prayed.</p><p>They prayed that Ann and Andy wouldn’t drive their roadster today.</p><p>Every week at the crack of dawn, Ann and Andy would push their little two-seater automobile out of the garage and set it faced towards the dusty horizon. With a turn of the ignition key, the quietness of the town was quickly decimated by its roaring engine, sending even the deepest of sleepers into immediate alert. The little automobile kicked up towering plumes of red dust that made their ways into open windows with a zombie-like haze, coating living rooms and kitchens in dirt, and for the brief time that Ann and Andy occupied the road in front of their family shop, life was hell for the people of the Copper Towns.</p><p>“Engine!?” Ann shouted.</p><p>“Check!” Andy retorted.</p><p>“Fuel!?”</p><p>“Check!”</p><p>“Wheels-”</p><p>“WILL YOU TWO JUST DRIVE OFF ALREADY?!” The two siblings looked over at their neighbor Barney, who lived across the road. He was standing in his front door, still hung over from the night before, and red-eyed from his disturbed sleep. A light coating of red dust powdered his pajamas, which presumably came in through his window moments before. Ann sheepishly opened her mouth to apologize but before she could get a word in edgewise, Andy had already started speeding them both down the road, producing another building-sized cloud that would undoubtedly terrorize the town. </p><p><em>The Blue Spectre</em>was Ann and Andy’s pride and joy. Frankensteined together from various cars they had attained from their opponents in drag races, the cobalt motorcar was built into the ultimate racing machine, used from the very best parts of its fallen opponents. It was designed so that the seats were lined one in front of the other, with the back one elevated significantly above the other to provide extra visibility. Next to the elevated seat, was the entry platform from which Ann and Andy entered to take their seats (an additional step was added to the side, from which Ann elevated herself into her seat), and on occasion could be used as an additional standing platform for any soul brave enough to ride the Blue Spectre without any seatbelts. Their friend Henny from the navy, a milquetoast and well-mannered young lad, had once tried to ride upon the speeding Spectre using nothing but his minimal strength to keep him steadfast to the machine. Once they had hit eighty miles per hour however, he quickly flew off and was swallowed by the red clouds behind them. He never set foot upon the Spectre again. </p><p>Ann and Andy sped down from the outskirts of the town and into the endless desert of the land beyond, enjoying their weekly time of solace. To be able to drive the Blue Spectre into the unending abyss, comforted by the red billowing clouds ballooning up from behind them, and thrive off the adrenaline of the Spectre’s speed, was the ultimate peace for the two fiery haired siblings. But for once, Ann could not feel the usual calm she did as the wind whipped wildly in her hair. </p><p>Since Babette’s departure a few days ago, Ann had felt out of sorts. Never in her life had she met someone like Babette, the ethereal image of her sumptuous visage blending in with the shining scrap mountains continually occupied her mind. And even now, as she rode atop the Blue Spectre with Andy, her mind was distant, as she gently traced the back of her hand with her thumb, the place where Babette had kissed her. She had never imagined that a woman from the Silver Cities would come into her life and show her any kindness, let alone form a connection with her. Ann nervously licked her lips, and closed her eyes tight, as anxious memories of the city came back to her. She’d remember all those days, dressed in the best clothes she could find (which still paled in comparison to the usual attire of the city’s residents, much to her chagrin), hiding her face under moth-bitten cloche hats, as she felt the weighted stares of other passengers on the cable cars. The people of the Silver Cities could always spot when an outsider had entered their domain as if it were a natural instinct, and they were always quick to make it known that ‘visitors’ were not welcome.</p><p>But Babette must have been different, Ann thought. Even with her haughty demeanor, she never distanced herself from her and her brother’s company, and oftentimes sought them out during her brief visit to their shop. And in her own strange way, it seemed like she better belonged with them in the sharp-edged rust, than in the polished glow of the city. </p><p>“Hey Ann!!” Andy looked back at his sister and did his best to shout over the engine’s roar. “You ready to test out the drift!!??”</p><p>Ann snapped out of her daydreaming haze and adjusted her goggles,  while her hand firmly gripped a lever to her side. She used her free hand to give Andy a thumbs up. “Ready!!”</p><p>Andy smiled mischievously, and drummed his fingers upon the steering wheel, while Ann did likewise with the lever. It was in these moments that the two of them were the most in sync, using their familial connection as twins to control the Spectre with pinpoint accuracy. They drummed their fingers once, twice, and on the third beat Andy sharply turned the steering wheel to the left, putting his whole body into it, while Ann slammed the lever down with determined force. The Spectre turned on a dime, ripping into the dirt and sending it spurting up into the sky. Ann and Andy held tight, as they fought against the inertia to keep them upright, and spun about in a tornado-like spiral. As the spectre circled about in an ellipse just over twice its size, the red clouds that once struggled to keep up with them now merged with the cobalt car’s whirlwind to create a towering red tornado. Ann and Andy tightened their grip, feeling the force of the Spectre threatening to throw them off more and more like an enraged indigo bull. They had to hang on, for a minute and thirty seconds at least. This would go one of three ways. Either they would be thrown off, the breaks would give out, or all three of them, Ann, Andy, and the Spectre, would make it through this ruby cyclone in one piece.</p><p>“HOW MUCH LONGER!?” Andy shouted.</p><p>Ann struggled to pull a pocket watch out of her apron pocket and checked the time. “THIRTY MORE SECONDS…!!”</p><p>The Spectre continued to spin faster and faster, closing in on the center of its spiral with each revolution. As the seconds went on with what felt like hours, the Spectre’s force more and more vigorous, it’s red clouded winds gripping and tearing at Ann and Andy’s body as it desperately tried to throw them off. Ten more seconds…. If they could make it through this, then no one could beat them in a race!</p><p>The red clouds spiraled higher into the sky, as it bit at the Spectre’s heels with rising speed. It’s winds whipped about angrily, forcing the dirt to join in it’s enraged spiral against the sky. Red clouds, red dirt, red sky, red haired siblings. Red was the way of the Copper Towns.</p><p>“NOW!!” Ann shouted. She yanked the lever back to its upright position as Andy slammed on the breaks.</p><p>“YEAH!!” He shouted, “WE DID IT-” The two siblings were promptly thrown off the Spectre as it made a hair-trigger stop. </p><p> </p><p>-----------------------</p><p> </p><p>“I think we can call that a success!” Ann brushed off the dust from her clothes, taking care to mind the bruises that were beginning to form. She looked at her brother and smiled, “Whaddya think, Andy?”</p><p>Andy looked back and gave a cheesy grin, popping his sister a thumbs up. “We’ll wipe out the competition for sure!” The two siblings sped down the dirt road approaching the outskirts of the town. If the folks of the Copper Towns were lucky, then the wind wouldn’t blow northways and send the red tornado cloud that Ann and Andy had created back to them. As the Spectre’s wheels made contact with the Copper Town’s cracked roads, Andy eased his foot off the gas pedal ever so slightly. “Maybe we should get better seatbelts,” Andy mused as he absentmindedly rubbed his purpling elbow. “Wouldn’t want to get thrown off the Spectre in the middle of a rac- CRAP, LOOK OUT!!”</p><p>Andy jerked the car out of the way, just narrowly avoiding a mysterious figure standing in the entryway of the junkyard, sending him, his sister, and the Spectre spinning down the road with a shrill screech. There was a moment of silence before the Spectre re-emerged, defeatedly following the tire marks it had streaked into the roads moments before. </p><p>Andy threw his goggles down and hopped out of the Spectre, marching his way up to the mysterious figure. “Hey!! Don’t ya know better than to stand in th’ middle of th’ road!? We coulda hit ya!!”</p><p>“I vould not worry, monsieur,” the mysterious figure said, brushing red dust off her shoulders, “I ‘ave been closer to death zhan zhis.”</p><p>Ann, immediately elated, scrambled down from her seat and ran up towards the entryway of the junkyard with her arms outstretched. “Babette!!”</p><p>As she reconnected with Babette the two of them joined hands and greeted each other with warm smiles. “Bonjour again, Miss Annie!”</p><p>“Oh Miss Babette, I’m really happy to see you again too! What brings you here?” A shocking thought came to Ann as a slight worry overcame her voice. “Your new engine didn’t give up on ya, did it?”</p><p>“Oh, <em>non</em>, it’s…” Babette looked back towards the garage where the Phantom was waiting. “I vill show you vhen ve get zhere.”</p><p>“Alright, we’ll take a look at it,” Andy said with a huff. He climbed into the Blue Spectre and turned the engine on, as he slowly drove it back to the garage. As he drove past, Ann and Babette hopped onto the back and rode along with him.</p><p> </p><p>----------------</p><p> </p><p>Ann and Andy awkwardly stood in the garage, feeling the warm sun hit their backs while their shadows slithered across the floor and up the wall. Neither of them dared to look or speak to one another as they stiffly gawked at the bullet hole that punctured the front and back window of the Phantom.</p><p>“How, how the….” Andy trailed off. He and Ann peered over at Babette who was comfortably enveloped in a cloud of smoke emanating from a freshly lit cigarette.</p><p>“Um, what parta town didja say you live in, again?” Ann asked quietly. “Didja park by a speakeasy, or somethin’?”</p><p>A choleric cloud of smoke escaped from Babette’s lips, as she approached the two siblings. “I assure you,” she said with a wave of her hand, “I ‘ave been to no such places as of last night.” She stood by the broken car window and gestured towards it. “Someone must ‘ave tried to break in to steal something. As if I vould be foolishe enough to leave my personal belongings in zhe car overnight.”</p><p>“Well, they still broke th’ window,” Ann mused “they could’ve taken the car...it’s not that hard to hotwire a car, y’know.” She stood up and rested her chin on her oil-stricken knuckles. “It just doesn’t make any sense…” She felt a breath of smoke curl against her cheek as she turned to meet Babette’s gaze. It had the same intensity it always had but...there was something else. Her pupils flicked about, scanning Ann’s face and scrutinizing her expression vehemently. There was an anxiousness behind her eyes… </p><p>“Don’t worry Miss Babette, we’ll getcher car all fixed up!” Perhaps Babette was anxious about something as dangerous as a bullet puncturing her car, Ann thought. That must have been it… </p><p> </p><p>---------------</p><p>As the day transpired, it had repeated the same pleasantness that occured during Babette’s first visit. The three of them were treated to lunch by Babette, and shortly after Andy would break off from the group to seek out Clem’s company (they often found him discreetly hiding within the scrapyard, waiting for Andy from beyond Uncle Maxi’s line of sight), which would then leave Ann and Babette to themselves as they ascended the crimson pile to take refuge upon Ann and Andy’s childhood fort. </p><p>Side by side a pair of tattered work boots and a pair of white Oxfords, now stained red, swayed idly from the edge of the flatbed. Ann and Babette laid side by side, their shoulders lightly touching, as they watched the clouds slowly float by, their vision of the sky half obscured by the golden glow of the parasol they took refuge under. Every time a plump gust of wind nonchalantly passed by it would lightly caress Ann’s hair and clasp at Babette’s rich skirts, causing them to rise and fall like waves. And in those brief moments of respite from the heat, Ann would become aware of how close her hands were to Babette’s, their knuckles lightly touching each other.</p><p>She closed her eyes, trying to quell the thumping sensation in her chest. What a pair they must have made, Ann thought…</p><p>“Miss Ann…”</p><p>Ann blinked open her eyes and looked over at Babette, her once stern gaze now replaced with half lidded and sleepy eyes hypnotized by the clouds passing by.</p><p>“Y-yes, Miss Babette?”</p><p>Babette turned onto her side to face Ann, the gap between them growing ever smaller. She tucked her feet up from over the edge of the flatbed and rested her hands just beneath her chin, her fingers painted and curled now lightly caressing at Ann’s shoulder as they fidgeted with a button on her overall straps made from an old cola cap. “Have you always lived here?”</p><p>“O-oh, well,” Ann reverted her gaze upwards to hide the pink hue creeping from beneath her oil stricken face, doing her best to focus on the clouds and not the light clinking sound of Babette playing with her cola button. “Yes, all my life, r-really. Me an’ Andy have been livin’ here with Uncle Maxi ever since we were really little.”</p><p>“Oh?” Babette said, her voice peaking with interest.</p><p>“Yeah,” Ann said, “ever since he took us in when we were around six or so. Been livin’ here and workin’ at the shop ever since. Gotta help make ends meet, y’know?”</p><p>Babette hummed and flicked at the cola pin, watching it spin a little. “It’s funny, Miss Ann...it is a little hard to picture you living in such a place all your life…” She tilted up her head to look at Ann. “You seem too sweet for a place like zhis…”</p><p>“Wha-” Ann shot up to a sitting position and turned back to look at Babette. Her once mild demeanor now replaced with puffed up cheeks and pouting lips like a petulant child. “Let’s get one thing straight, Miss Babette! I’m not some two-bit sweeheart who can’t take care of herself!”</p><p>“O-Oh, vait I meant-”</p><p>“I wouldn’t have made it a day out here otherwise! Who do ya think taught Andy how to fight in the first place, huh!?”</p><p>“I-I, Miss Ann, I-”</p><p>“Oh sure! He’ll <em>say</em>his buddies from the army taught him, but I was the one who taught him first!”</p><p>Babette sat up and awkwardly waited for Ann to finish her rant, understanding with a grim realization that she had struck a nerve with her. When Ann had finally calmed down Babette quietly asked “...feeling better?” </p><p>Ann gave a little huff in response. “...sorry ‘bout that,” she muttered.</p><p>“It is alright, <em>cherie</em>,” Babette said as she patted Ann rather firmly on the back (Ann had to brace herself a little from falling off the flatbed). She scooted a bit closer until their knees were touching. “Actually, I am quite pleased to hear zhat you know how to hold your own, Miss Ann.”</p><p>Ann gulped. “G-gee, really?”</p><p>“Mhmm.” Babette brought her face closer to Ann, the smell of rich perfume in the summer heat almost becoming overwhelming, as she reached up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. In a sweet and low voice she said “Because I vas thinking…  perhaps one evening you and I could-”</p><p>“Excuse me ladies! We haven’t got all day, y’know?”</p><p>Ann froze up as Babette’s expression immediately soured. Without moving her head, she knew exactly who that voice belonged to.</p><p>
  <em>Andy.</em>
</p><p>Babette cleared her throat and scooted herself off the edge of the flatbed, firmly landing on the discarded remnants of an old patio table. “Oui Monsieur Andy,” she shouted, “ve are on our way.” Andy gave a little tip of his cap and made his way into the garage. Once he disappeared under the shadows Babette turned back to Ann and extended her hand out to help her down from the flatbed. “Coming Miss Ann?.....Ann?”</p><p>Ann remained frozen in place, her mind still racing to process the brief moment of intimacy just moments ago. Babette gave a lighthearted huff and walked back over to Ann, tugging at the pant leg of her overalls until she tipped over from the side of the flatbed and onto Babette’s shoulder, slumped over like a ragdoll. She firmly wrapped her arm around Ann and used her free hand to lift up her skirts a bit for mobility as she made the descent back down the cardinal scrap heap with Ann in tow.</p><p>What a sight the two of them made.</p><p> </p><p>----------------------</p><p> </p><p>Andy and Uncle Maxi peered excitedly at the latest check Babette wrote them, quietly discussing what they would buy for dinner with the lofty bonus they had gotten. As they spoke amongst themselves, Ann and Babette stood at the entryway of the garage.</p><p>“Well, we got your windows all fixed up, Miss Babette,” Ann said a little solemnly. She lightly scratched at her cheek and made little circles in the ground with her foot. In such a short span of time, she had come to dread this time of day, when the sun set low and fiery over the town, casting shadows long and deep over the landscape. The time when Babette would get into her car and drive off into that golden light, and never be seen again should the Phantom remain intact.</p><p>“Miss Babette…” Ann said quietly, “what was it you were gonna say earlier? Back at the flatbed fort?”</p><p>“Oh…” Babette looked over her shoulder at Andy and Uncle Maxi. “Perhaps now is not zhe best time…” A proposition like this would be best offered in privacy, Babette thought. She looked back to Ann, whose expression had noticeably disheartened as she continued softly scratching at her cheek. “Ohh, do not vorry, <em>cheri</em>,” Babette cooed. She gently took Ann’s hand and held it in her own. “I zhink you and I vill cross paths again.” She knelt down, as Ann braced her heart for another kiss to her hand. But as Babette moved closer, she brought her face closer to Ann’s, the brim of her decorated hat and long golden curls enshrouding them behind a private veil. She pressed a kiss, soft and warm, to Ann’s cheek before pulling away with a devilish grin, leaving Ann frozen in place once more.</p><p>As she stepped into the Phantom, Babette gave one last smirk at Ann. “I’ll be seeing you again, Miss Ann.” And with that she sped off into the sunset.</p><p>Unbeknownst to Ann, Babette’s words would ring truer than she could have ever anticipated.</p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Within the span of a few days Babette was back once more with the Phantom in even more disrepair than usual. The frame was severely dented, the windows were all cracked and broken, and a crowbar jutted out from the front window.</p><p>“Lady what parta town do you even live in!?” Andy at this point was growing a bit livid. Customers usually only came in for basic repairs, not the kind of fix-ups that only a low-down gangster would ask for. </p><p>“Ohh,” Babette did her best to feign innocence, “it truly is a catastrophe, is it not? To zhink someone vould do zhis to my car vhen I am not looking!” She looked over at Ann and smiled. “I suppose I vill have to spend anozher day here, hm?”</p><p>Ann smiled bashfully back while Andy stared at his sister in disbelief. To think she could be whipped this easily..! He opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a world in Uncle Maxi popped his head through the office door. “Take-a all the time you need, Miss! We’ll be a-happy to fix-a your car!” Uncle Maxi gleefully flipped through a wad of cash from Babette’s last check. He was clearly quite pleased to fulfill any request she might have had, that was for certain.</p><p>However, Babette had many requests. Over the course of the next two weeks Babette returned again and again with The Phantom in need of new repairs, each one more drastic than the last. Her car had been shot several times, the tires slashed twice, the leather upholstery scratched to pieces, sugar poured into the gas tank, and an innumerable amount of dents and bludgeons were made all over the frame of the car. And each time Ann and Andy would repair the car, make it all shiny and new, just for it to wrecked all over again. Whenever they asked Babette about it, she would simply throw the back of her hand to forehead and try her best not to faint, as she decried “Who vould do such a zhing?”</p><p>“I can’t take it anymore!” Andy threw his hat down in the dust. “Why’s she gotta keep wreckin’ her car like that, huh!? I swear she’s doin’ it on purpose!”</p><p>“Well gee, I dunno, Andrew,” Ann mumbled quietly, “maybe she isn’t-”</p><p>“You know damn well she is!” Andy snapped back. “She’s doin’ it so she can have an excuse to come prissin’ her way back here!” </p><p>Ann lightly bit at the end of her nails. “Well...at least we’ve been makin’ good money lately…”</p><p>Andy merely shook his head and sighed. “The disrespect...to treat a car like that. Dammit it we shouldn’t have to be treated like this, fixin’ that broad’s car at her every beck and call! I’m a mechanic, dammit! I was born with a wrench in my hands!</p><p>“I know,” Ann said, “the folks at the orphanage said it was real hard on Ma…”</p><p>As the two siblings talked amongst themselves, they could hear the horn to Uncle Maxi’s truck go off in the distance. Unsurprisingly with The Phantom in tow.</p><p>“Looks like the big Sappho’s back again,” Andy muttered.</p><p>“Andrew!” Ann chided, “we don’t know if she’s.... Y’know…<em>like us</em>.”</p><p>“Li-” Andy practically choked on his own spit. “Like us!? Of course she’s like us!! She’s been droppin’ pins ever since got here!! She’s been comin’ here for <em>you</em>Ann!!”</p><p>            Ann gave a surprised look, as she switched her gaze back and forth between Andy and Babette who was stepping out of the tow truck and waving at her. “No~oo!” Ann said. “She wouldn’t be here for little ol’ me-”</p><p>“Oh my god.” Andy had his hands firmly pressed against his eyes. “Oh my god you’re giving me a headache, I’m going to throw up.” He took a deep breath to gather his strength, then resumed yelling at his sister. “Of course she likes you!! She keeps snugglin’ up to ya!”</p><p>“Well, she’s just very friendly-”</p><p>“She kissed ya on the cheek!!”</p><p>“Maybe it’s a French thing-”</p><p>“I caught you two sleepin’ on the flatbed yesterday!!”</p><p>“We were just nappin’! Friends do that all the time-...Andy?”</p><p>Andy had completely folded in on himself like a small, little, angry, ball. “Do me a favor Ann,” he said. “Don’t talk to me for a little bit.”</p><p> </p><p>----------------</p><p> </p><p>“Lad, this fort’s a lil’ cramped, doncha think?” Clem awkwardly sat beside Andy on the flatbed, their legs dangling loosely off the side.</p><p>“Well it’s <em>my </em>fort too,” Andy said as he looked back at Ann and Babette, who were just as cramped in the back of the flatbed. “And we have just as much a right to be here as anyone else! And you guys have been hoggin’ it way too much lately!” He gave a little huff as he bitterly bit off a large mouthful of his sandwich. </p><p>“Be quiet,” Babette groaned. She peeked out from underneath her ornate sunhat to glare at Andy, and then retreated back under its shady comfort. Her head was comfortably resting in Ann’s lap while her legs dangled up and over the side of the flatbed’s dividers. It wasn’t the most dignified position, but it would have to do.</p><p>Andy merely waved off her response. “So Clem,” he said “ya wanna head to a speakeasy this weekend?” Babette stirred a little, peeking out from under her hat.</p><p>“Sure lad,” Clem said with his mouth half full, “where’d ya fancy we go this time?”</p><p>Andy thought about it for a moment. “Wasn’t there a candy shop downtown that had a speakeasy?”</p><p>“Ach,” Clem shook his head, “wouldn’t want to go there. Folks say the owner’s real greedy. He’s been rattin’ out his customers for a quick buck. What about that cafe uptown?”</p><p>Babette stirred a little more, turning her head to look at them.</p><p>“No way,” Andy said, “it’s way too hoity-toity and expensive… I know! How about we head to Chucklehut’s!”</p><p>“Chucklehut’s!?” Babette shot up immediately and glared at Andy with her eyebrows furrowed  and her cheeks puffed out. Her legs still awkwardly angled up and over the side flatbed. “Chucklehut’s is nozhing but watered down vodka and piss in flasks! You ought to have some taste, boy!”</p><p>“Oh yeah!?” Andy pushed his hat up and stood up, tossing his sandwich into Clem’s lap. “Since when did <em>you </em>become so opinionated on speakeasies, huh toots!?”</p><p>“Ha! I happen to know a lot more zhen you vould, you urchin!”</p><p>Andy glared back at her. “No wonder ya keep wreckin yer car then! You drunkard! You must be out drinkin’ every night!”</p><p>“You idiot!” Babette pushed herself up in one deft movement and stared down at Andy from her full height. “I <em>own </em>zhe speakeasy uptown! Of course I know how zhe damn places work!!”</p><p>“OWN IT!?” By now Clem, Andy, and especially Ann were staring at Babette in disbelief.</p><p>“So-so you get all your money from-”</p><p>“From smuggling booze across zhe country? Oui Mademoiselle Ann.”</p><p>There was a moment of silence from all four of them as they sat about the flatbed, Andy muttering into his hands indefinitely. “She did it on purpose,” he mumbled, “this lady really broke her car on purpose just to come prancin’ back here every day…”</p><p>“A small price to pay to see Miss Ann again.” Babette turned back to Ann and extended her hand out to help lift her to her feet. “Vhich is vhy I vould like to revisit zhe proposition I offered earlier…” Ann gulped, as she met the intensity of Babette’s gaze. “Miss Ann,” she said, “I ‘ave been beating around zhe bush long enough… should you be interested I vould like to invite you to my speakeasy zhis Saturday as my guest of honor.” </p><p>“Like a date?” Ann timidly asked.</p><p>Babette smiled warmly at her. “Oui, madame.”</p><p>Andy stared at his sister in disbelief. “Ann you can’t be serious-”</p><p>“I’d love to!!”</p><p>“Ann are you kidding me-”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The next chapter is where we *really* get into the core of this story and what I’ve been really excited to write about this whole time! Brace yourselves folks!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Puttin' on the Ritz</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We're getting there, we're starting to get to the good stuff! I wanted to get more in this chapter, admittedly, but that just means I'll be able to relish in all the details for the next chapter! Hope ya enjoy it, folks!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Little clouds of steam crammed inside the bathroom, choking for space as they searched for a way out. Slipping out in fat billows from the opening under the door, they wandered up and down the hall of the apartment like fretting ghosts. Within the center of the ghoulish steam Ann sat hunched over the drain pipe in the tub, letting the hot water beat down upon her back as she frantically scrubbed at her skin with a bar of soap. With every watery stream of oil and dirt that swirled down the drain she grew more anxious. <em>How could there be this much dirt…? Oh dear, oh dear… </em></p><p>She had been scrubbing for nearly 30 minutes and yet her work never ceased. The years upon years of working within the red dusted junkyard had caked upon her skin, turning the water a light pink. Ann’s mind raced. In a little less than an hour Babette would be here, dressed to the nines no doubt, and whisk her away to a ritzy speakeasy somewhere uptown. Ann felt a pang of anxiety shoot into her stomach. She could feel the frigid glares of the people of the Silver Cities, and how small they would make her feel. In her mind she could see a sea of dark eyes staring back at her from behind a veil of cigarette smoke within the speakeasy, and Babette’s inevitable disappointment when she would fail to live up to her expectations.</p><p>“Ohh no…” Ann muttered.</p><p>A rhythmic knock came upon the door. “Ann, you ok?”</p><p>“Yeahh…” Ann said pitifully, “I’m ok, Andy…”</p><p>“Uhh...You can use my extra bar of soap, if ya want to, for yer date an’ all that.”</p><p>“Thank you…” Ann sniffled and began searching about the tub. With all the money they had earned from Babette’s multiple car wreckings the small family of mechanics was able to splurge a bit on extra bath soaps and shampoos, rather than having to awkwardly share a measly bar between the three of them. It was the first <em>real </em>bath Ann had in years, and it showed. As she began to scrub at the dirt on her knuckles, Andy spoke through the door once more.</p><p>“Hey Ann? You remember how to break a nose right?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Break a nose, for self-defense! I mean, we don’t know if that Miss Babette’s gotta a screw loose or not, and what if she’s a forceful typea gal?” He rolled up his sleeves and began to box against his shadow on the hallway wall. “You gotta know how to break a nose for your own good-“</p><p>“Andrew, <em>I </em>was the one to teach you that!” Ann huffed and shut off the water as she stepped out of the tub and wrapped herself in a moth-bitten towel. She swiped a pair of bloomers and some stockings off the bathroom counter, hoping the latter garments would hide the razor bumps forming on her legs. “Besides,” she continued, “I’m not gonna go pickin’ fights with someone uptown, and especially not Miss Babette! I could get in serious trouble, Andy! They got a lot more cops patrollin’ those big cities, y’know.”</p><p>“<em>I </em>was the one to tell you that!”</p><p>Ann’s face soured a bit as she put on a black dress slip. “Andy,” she did her best to sound patient, “doncha have somewhere to be right now?”</p><p>“Not for a bit, Clem’s roundin’ up the boys first, they’re all gonna be a little late.” He put his back to the door and slid down, planting himself comfortably on the floor. “It’s so borin’ waitin’ for’em…”</p><p>“Alright,” Ann muttered, “make yourself comfortable then.” She went to the window and plucked a black dress off the hanger, stopping briefly to examine it.</p><p>It was an old dress that used to belong to her neighbor down the hall, Susie, a seamstress, and was re-fashioned to look like the sorts of dresses that the flapper girls would wear on the cover of a drugstore magazine. It was decorated with red fringe, faux pearls, and shining sequins, “To match your hair,” as Susie had put it. Yet despite its sentimental renovations its age still showed. The little red pearls clustered around the tears and homemade seams in intricate flower patterns in an effort to hide the dress’ imperfections, but put it in sunlight and its hand-me-down state would be clear as day.</p><p>“Hopefully this place is candlelight only,” Ann thought bitterly. She awkwardly slipped on the dress and made her way over to the bathroom mirror, positioning herself until she was in the one corner that wasn’t decimated with cracks to get a better look at the dress.</p><p>“If a spud and a pear had a heated affair,” she thought, “and had a child 9 months later, and then that funny spuddy pear child grew up 22 years later to put on a ritzy dress to try to impress her new gal pal with, that’s what it would look like right there in the mirror.”</p><p>Ann felt her face pull down, the urge to suddenly cry becoming overwhelming. Her breath became quicker and she could feel her worries threatening to pour out of her eyes and nose. The dress had revealed her figure such that it forced Ann to see herself in a way that was almost foreign. It gripped along her form, giving way to a stout, pear-like physique with a round tummy, a physique Ann had seldom thought about when she was in her work overalls. Her freckles, which had once been covered and lightly dusted with the red winds of the town were now bare and exposed, stippling her face and shoulders with such an intensity that they looked like grains of sand upon an olive beach. And to those who inspected closely (like Babette would inevitably do) they would see the multiple scratches, scars, and bruises that streaked up and down Ann’s arms from work.</p><p>“Oh, oh no…” Ann gripped along the ends of her dress, as her face became contorted with sadness and made her way to the mirror, trying desperately to force herself to keep moving forward. She pressed her palms hard against her cheeks and forcefully wiped away at her tears. “I can’t cry now,” she reached for some maroon eyeshadow and began smudging it against her fingers and rubbing it on her eyelids, hiccuping a little as she went. “I can’t cry now… I gotta be tough…I can’t go backin’ out of this now…”</p><p>“Annie,” another knock came at the door, “I hear snifflin’ in there, you ok?”</p><p><em>Oh God, did Andy hear all that? Be tough, be tough, ya can’t let your brother hear you wimping out in here</em>. “I am <em>fiiiine </em>Andrew!! Can’t ya make like a bee and buzz off a lil’!? I gotta get ready!” Ann could feel her stress growing ten-fold.</p><p>“Now is that-a any way to talk to your brother?”</p><p><em>Please God, not Uncle Maxi</em>. </p><p>Ann hastily grabbed a tub of vaseline and rubbed its slippery contents onto her eyeshadow, giving it a little gleam and aiding her in ignoring the fact that her whole family was now nosily crammed against the door.</p><p>“Uh Annie,” Uncle Maxi said through the door, “perhaps-a it is time that we have-a the talk before you head out with your ladyfriend tonight…”</p><p>Oh Ann knew all about <em>the talk</em>. She knew about that dreaded lecture because Andy told her all about it two years ago when he first started sneaking out with Clem. She remembered seeing him peak his head into her room one night, his eyes filled with mischievous glee. “Ann,” he said, “you’ll never believe what Uncle Maxi just told me, it’s <em>gross</em>!” And from then on, in a fit of pre-marital panic, Uncle Maxi would dole out the same speech again and again, each one outdoing the last with increasingly outlandish embellishments, every time Andy went out to go see Clem.</p><p>“There’s too many-a bastard children in this house!” Uncle Maxi had been ranting for a while now, but Ann had neglected to hear it, “even I was-bastard child! My parents didn’t get married until I was 4!” Ann hastily fastened on her accessories, trying with all her might to tune him back out, she didn’t need this right now.</p><p>“But Uncle Maxi,” Andy interjected, “we might not have been bastard children, you never know-“</p><p>“You both got sent to an orphanage, didn’t you!?” Ann began to tap her foot incessantly against the bathroom floor, trying to drown out the sound of her family’s squabbling. “I want <em>no </em>funny business from either of you until you’re married, you understand-“</p><p>“I’m 22, Uncle Maxi,” Ann screamed, “I don’t need the talk!! Can’t you two let a lady get ready in peace!?” Ann heatedly stomped on a pair of black heel pumps, nearly tipping over in the process and made her way over to the bathroom door, ripping it open in one mighty swing.</p><p>There she stood, looking like a homemade flapper with a bone to pick. Her double-looped scarlet pearls swayed around her neck like a chain while the feather on her headband stood up like a rooster’s comb, ready to claw at any moment. The rouge on her cheeks, which had all the applications of an amateur’s handiwork, made her face look even redder and angrier. Andy and Uncle Maxi instinctively took a step back.</p><p>“You uh, you look <em>great </em>Ann-”</p><p>“Don’t start! I’m riled up enough as is!”</p><p>“Annie,” Uncle Maxi reached out to place a hand on Ann’s shoulder, but cautiously pulled it back after she shot daggers at him with her irate gaze. He sighed, remembering this part of Ann too well. While normally quite mild, there were times when Ann’s instinctive need for survival and protection would kick in, making her combative and nettled. It came out when she was outnumbered by a gang of bullies in kindergarten, when she needed to teach Andy how to fight to protect himself for the first time, when a drunkard tried to break into their apartment late at night, and it was here now, when she was feeling at her most vulnerable and confused. “<em>Ann,</em>” Maxi said in a low comforting tone, “you don’t have to be so <em>robusto </em>tonight, ok? You’re-a young lady, dear, tonight is supposed to be a night of fun, and you shouldn’t haven’t to be on the defense for once.” Ann gave a little huff in response, visibly calming down a bit. Uncle Maxi smiled warmly at the two siblings. “Come on,” he said, “stop-a standing around in the hallway and go sit down in the kitchen, at least. I’ll slice off-a little cake before you go.”</p><p>He gave his knee a little pop and made his way over to the kitchen, producing a small chocolate cake from the fridge. “Ya know, I think you’re gonna kill it out there, Ann,” Andy said as they took a seat at the kitchen table. He made sure to take the seat opposite of Ann, rather than next to her, learning from past experience that a little distance between him and his sister was always in his best interest when she was like this.</p><p>“Ya mean it?” Ann mumbled.</p><p>“Yeah, you look nice.”</p><p>“You oughta look-a nice too,” Uncle Maxi said, placing two small plates of chocolate cake in front of them.</p><p>“I’m not gonna wear a dress, Uncle Maxi!” Andy responded.</p><p>“Then wear-a suit! Get all spiffed up for your Clem friend for once!” He playfully swatted at the back of Andy’s head.</p><p>“But I don’t even <em>have </em>a suit!”</p><p>“We’ll take-a look through my old dresser, tonight. I had a suit when I was your age that might fit!”</p><p>Ann started to smile, taking little bites of her chocolate cake as she went. When their bickering was aimed at each other, it was quite comforting to be around Andy and Uncle Maxi, and she found solace in being able to quietly listen to their voices. As the time passed, she slowly came back down to her old self, savoring the taste of chocolate on her tongue and laughing at Andy and Uncle Maxi’s banter. She raised her fork to take another bite, but suddenly froze in place. Outside the door she could hear the soft hum of a machine whirring.<em>The elevator</em>.</p><p>She stood up and made her way to the front door, pressing her ear against it. Down the hall, she could hear the ding of the elevator as it stopped on the second floor. It’s doors slowly opened up with a low metallic drone, and the clack of a well-tailored shoe hit the vinyl flooring. </p><p>No turning back now, she was here.</p><p>Ann could hear the slow rhythmic clicking as the phantom shoes made their approach towards the door, echoing louder with each step. A dozen little eyes peered through the peepholes of their own respective doors, watching as the stranger in the hallway went past, but Ann didn’t dare to look. She knew who was there. She could feel her presence on the other side of the door. Without even hearing so much as a knock first, Ann swung open the door.</p><p>And there she was.</p><p>A plume of smoke invited itself in first, leaving Babette behind it as if she were its entourage, and affectionately curled its way around Ann’s cheeks. Babette leaned against the door frame, the glow of a cuban cigar illuminating her face, as she looked at Ann with suave, collected eyes. Her irises quickly flicked up and down her figure, examining her with great intrigue. “Zhat dress is quite becoming of you,” she said “you look lovely, Miss Ann.”</p><p>Ann felt flushed. “And you look-” <em>A lot more dapper than she was expecting</em>. </p><p>Babette was dressed in a black pinstripe suit and dress pants, with a striking silk black tie that hung just above her belt. She wore a crimson dress shirt underneath, and a silver vest lined with shining diamond-shaped buttons. Atop her head, just barely touching the top of the door frame, was a black fedora lined with a red ribbon, and on her feet were the same Oxfords she always wore. They looked like they had been recently shined and buffed, but the subtle pink stains of the junkyard were still there. Not even the spats could cover them up.</p><p>“...Wowie.” That’s all Ann could muster up.</p><p>Babette leaned forward and placed two kisses on Ann’s cheeks in greeting, her lipstick adding to the rouge on her face. “Vell,” she gestured towards the elevator down the hall with her cigarette ladened hand, “shall we be going?”</p><p>“Now wait-a just a moment.” Uncle Maxi and Andy made their way from the kitchen to the front door. Andy just stopped short behind Ann but Uncle Maxi kept moving forward, producing a folded stepping stool from under his arm and unfurling it before Babette. He placed it down determinedly and stepped upon it until he was just eye-to-eye with her collarbone. “Listen here,” he said sternly, “you may have been-a customer here before, but not tonight!” He waved his finger in Babette’s face. She remained unthreatened and mildly amused as he continued raving. “You treat-a my Annie right out there! No funny-a business out there! There are too many bastard children in this house as is! You make sure she comes home safe, sound, and out of trouble!”</p><p>Babette held back the urge to chuckle a little, and wrapped her arm around Ann’s shoulder, as if not registering Maxi’s words or downright challenging them all together. “Do not fret, Monsieur,” a cloud of smoke curled out from her lips and possessively wrapped around Ann, “Miss Ann is my guest of honor tonight. She vill be treated vith zhe utmost care.”</p><p>Uncle Maxi nodded, his gaze remaining firm and unyielding, as he stepped down from his stool. “See to it that it is.” He then turned to look at Ann, his gaze immediately becoming softer and more comforting. “Have-a good night Annie!” He and Andy gave her a little wave, which she awkwardly returned as she and Babette made their way down the hall.</p><p>When they stepped into the elevator Ann nervously wringed her fingers together and looked at Babette. “Sorry you had to put up with that…”</p><p>“Oh it’s quite alright, Miss Ann. We are not so different, you and I. I vas a, how you say, a bastard child too.”</p><p>“You were?”</p><p>“Oui, I vas there at my parent’s wedding!”</p><p>“Oh, were you the flower girl?”</p><p>“Non,” the elevator doors closed, “I vas in zhe womb.”</p><p> </p><p>-------------------------</p><p> </p><p>It was quite strange for Ann to be riding in Babette’s car. For weeks she had been deeply intimate with the inner workings of the monochrome machine, fixing it quite often, but this was the first time she had ever been in the passenger seat, being chauffeured around by Babette no less. They had spent most of the drive in silence, Ann was too nervous to speak, but Babette didn’t seem to mind. They had to drive uptown, meaning it would take over half an hour to get there. </p><p>Every now and then Ann would steal nervous glances at Babette, and watch as her eyes remained focused on the road. But when her wandering eyes stay fixed on her for too long, Babette’s eyes would shift back at Ann, with an all-knowing smirk.</p><p>“Vhe should be zhere soon, Miss Ann,” she said softly. “Are you nervous?”</p><p>“O-oh, uh yeah…” Ann twirled her faux pearls in her fingers. “I haven’t spent a lotta Uptown, y’know…”</p><p>Babette gave a light chuckle, and extended her hand out to Ann, prompting her to take it. Ann tentatively reached out and joined hands with Babette, taken aback a little bit by how icy cold her hands were. “Do not vorry, mon cheri, as I said to your Uncle, you are an honored guest tonight. You vill treated vith zhe utmost care.” She gave Ann’s hands a tender squeeze. “Besides,” her shoulders began to shake a little, holding back laughter. “It’s not everyday zhat I smash a crowbar zhrough my car window just to see someone again and again!”</p><p>Ann felt a smile creep up on her face, the flattery of Babette's words becoming overwhelming as she turned her attention towards the window out of shyness. She watched as the Phantom began to drive over the long metal bridge that separated the Silver Cities from the Copper Towns, and saw the bright golden lights of all the shops and buildings before them. She could see the dark blue ocean below them as it lapped its white foamy waves against the shore and as Babette continued laughing softly to herself, Ann rubbed her thumb against the back of her palm, her smile never leaving her face.</p><p> </p><p>-----------</p><p> </p><p>Ann stepped out of the car and felt a blast of cold air hit her shoulders. On the other side of the street was a sandy beach that led to the ocean. With each crash the waves made upon the shore another salty blast of mist wafted its way over to Ann and Babette, chilling them to the core.</p><p>“Come on,” Babette opened up her black trench coat, inviting Ann to take shelter under it for warmth, as the two of them made their way to a cafe lined with flowering vine plants and daisy yellow awnings. Atop the building was a sign with the title “Le Corsairs de Babette” written out in golden yellow cursive.</p><p>“Hey,” Ann stopped in her tracks, forcing Babette to stop with her, “I know this place! This place used to be the Captain’s old seafood restaurant! ‘Captain’s Corsairs!’ We went here for Uncle Maxi’s birthday a few years back!” She paused for a moment, lost in thought. “But… if it’s your place now then…”</p><p>Babette had a funny look on her face. It was the kind of mischievous face that little boys made when they were getting away with something awful, like burning ants with a magnifying glass. She began to shake again as little puffs of laughter escaped her lips, causing her to shrink down and prompting Ann to do likewise so that the trench coat wouldn’t slip off of either of them. “Babette…?”</p><p>“Ahaha, it’s like I told you Miss Ann,” she giggled wickedly, “I vas here to see zhe captain at his lowest moment! I ran zhat pathetic foole out of business!” </p><p>Babette gave out in another fit of gasping laughter, as Ann placed her hand upon her shoulders to steady her from falling over. She looked up at the building, taking in every little transformation the once run-down seafood shack had made to turn into the elegant cafe that stood proudly before her. It had practically done a complete 180. <em>So this was the way of the speakeasy, huh? Cutthroat and merciless.</em></p><p>Babette calmed down and cleared her throat, standing back up to her full height and taking Ann with her. “Ah, ah-ha, ve best get inside zhen, before zhis salty air freezes us to death. Come along, Miss Ann.”</p><p>“But,” Ann looked at the cafe’s windows that gave way to a darkened interior, “but this place looks closed!”</p><p>“Oui, zhat is true,” she guided her past the front door and down a little alley, “zhat is vhy ve are heading to zhe back door, Miss Ann. If I conducted business in front of all zhese vindows zhen zhe police vould come and turn zhe place inside out!” She stopped at a door on the side of the building and gave an intricate knock upon it. For a moment the two of them waited in silence, before a metal slot near the top of the door opened up, and a cloud of cigarette smoke came trailing out of it.</p><p>“Evenin’ Miss Babette,” a sharp voice said. Babette gave a nod in response, and wrapped her arm Ann. The metal slot closed back up and several locks unlatched from the other side. Within moments the door opened up, revealing a dark void.</p><p>“Vell?” Babette said, gesturing towards the door, “shall ve be going, Miss Ann?”</p><p>Ann steeled her nerves, and held her head high. Under the cloak of Babette’s trench coat, the two of them stepped forward into the dark interior, as the metal door closed behind them.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter is gonna get *real* good, I'm really excited for this one! Gonna have some special characters make an appearance! If you're a fan of Topsy then stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Name of the Game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here it is! The next chapter and its a BIG ONE! I've been very excited to get to this chapter! Thanks also to my friends for agreeing to let me use their namesake's, as I was starting to run out of canon raggedy characters to add in the story, haha. Hope you all enjoy, folks!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The interior of the cafe was near pitch-black. As Ann walked alongside Babette within the darkened restaurant she could scarcely make out a thing, save for the bits of white on the checkered marble floor of the backrooms, and the soft glow of Babette’s cigar. She could hear their footsteps as they walked together, and the clumsy rhythm of her own pace as she tried to keep up with Babette’s long strides. Behind them they could hear another steady gait, this one a bit slower and more lackadaisical, presumably belonging to the man who let them in moments before.</p><p>
  <em>Why was it so dark in here? Where are all the people?</em>
</p><p>Ann’s heart began to quicken. What if Andy was right? What if Babette really was up to no good? <em>What if this was all a trap to swindle her? </em>She could feel her mind swirl, and the once comforting embrace of Babette’s arm around her shoulder now felt like the grip of a deadly snake, savoring its prey before devouring it whole.</p><p>“Ann?” Babette lifted up her trench coat to get a better look at her, “you are shaking, are you still cold?” </p><p>“We best get her downstairs,” the sharp voice said, “where everyone else is.” Ann watched through nervous eyes as a man in a juniper green suit circled in front of them, twirling a fat cigar in his hands. Like Babette, he had a dining vest, a black tie, a pair of pinstripe dress pants, and a sharp hat, from which an ace playing card stuck out of the band. Every article of clothing was hued in a different shade of dapper green, and from the top of his hat a waterfall of shaggy hair cascaded down, the bangs concealing his eyes in mystery. He extended a gloved hand out to Ann. “The name’s Nick, Nick the Prick. I run the poker table downstairs.”</p><p>Ann was taken aback. “Surely they don’t <em>really </em>call you that, right?”</p><p>Nick shrugged and dabbed a few ashes off his cigar. “Well it started off as ‘Nick the Quick,’ but folks usually switch over to ‘Nick the Prick’ after I play’em a game of cards. But hey, it’s a living I guess, and while I’m around the house always wins.” He gave his wrist a quick flick, practically producing a card out of thin air. “Queen of Hearts,” he said as he handed the card to Ann, “that’s your lucky card, kid. Keep it on ya to let it do it’s magic.”</p><p>“Surely you still do not believe such nonsense.” Babette huffed and produced a little playing card of her own from her vest pocket. Queen of Spades, quite fitting. “If zhese silly leetle playing cards truly <em>did </em>bring good fortune, you vouldn’t be vaisting your evenings dealing hands downstairs,” she shrunk the gap between them in an act of intimidation, and stared him down from her full height, “now <em>vould </em>you?”</p><p>“Hey come on,” Nick could feel himself being backed into a corner, figuratively and literally, “if ya didn’t believe in these things, then why do you still carry <em>your </em>card around, huh?” Nick quickly felt the gravity of his words as they weighed against his favor in the grand scale of good fortune, and Babette was quick to descend upon him with contemptuous fury. </p><p>“Vell vhat else am I supposed to do vith zhe stupid zhing!? Zhrow away a good playing card!? And since vhen did <em>anyone </em>before you believe zhat playing cards of all zhings could be considered good luck!?” </p><p>While she often tried to reserve an air of elegance around her, Babette’s supercilious demeanor would often get the better of her, prompting her to go into unending diatribes concerning even the smallest of semantics, and making her no better than a spoiled child. And frankly no one knew that better than the people who were forced to work with her every night from 9 to 5.</p><p>“Aw, go easy on him Miss Babette,” Ann said as her Parisian companion quickly became wrapped up in a furious lecture against Nick. She held the little playing card in her hands, entranced by the deep red crimson heart patterns that somehow managed to sparkle with what little light there was in the dark cafe. “I think it’ll bring good luck, I’ve always liked believing in little things like this! They’re like my homemade pins back at home.” She took the card and gently tucked it behind the feather on her headband, taking great care not to bend it. “Doncha think so, Babette?”</p><p>Babette re-directed her attention back to Ann, an irritated puff smoke escaping from the corner of her lips as Nick quickly slinked away from her. “I suppose so.”</p><p>Nick tipped his cigar up in a little salute to Ann, and quickened his pace towards a stairwell in the back of the room. “Well, I best be gettin’ back to work, hope ya enjoy your stay, Miss Ann!” He quickly disappeared down the stairwell, the smoke of his cigar trailing after him and eventually vanishing beneath the horizon of the cafe floor.</p><p>In the silence of the dark cafe Babette gave one last puff of her cigar, inhaling deeply enough that the embers casted her face in an intense fiery glow, and let the thick smoke escape her lips like a dragon’s breath. Her stress and anger seemingly floated to the ceiling along with it. She snubbed the cigar out on an ashtray placed on a nearby table and made her way towards Ann. “Vhe ought to head down, too.” Her voice was noticeably softer and much kinder than it was before and Ann wondered if it was the nicotine’s doing or Babette’s own fondness towards her.</p><p>Ann strolled her way back to Babette and hooked their arms together, taking notice (and perhaps even some comfort) in the way the tension in Babette’s body dropped in response to her touch. The two of them walked side by side towards the back of the cafe, and began to descend the stairwell together. At the bottom was a medallion door that seemed to conceal a world of hedonistic delight. Brilliant light spilled out from its every crack, and with each step Ann made in her descent she could hear the muffled sound of people’s laughter, music, cork bottles popping, and fancy glasses being clinked together amongst friends and lovers, the collective sounds of joy growing louder and louder in her approach. She reached the bottom of the stairs and wrapped her hand around the golden doorknob, stopping briefly to look at Babette with nervous and excited eyes as if waiting for permission.</p><p>Babette’s eyes sparkled back in the rich radiance, and her smile hid a mystery that seemed to be on the verge of being understood. “Go on Miss Ann,” she said, “open it.”</p><p>She gripped her hand around the doorknob, paused for a moment, and then yanked the door open in one mighty swing, as a burst of music came rushing out, flooding the stairwell and drowning out all the other sounds in her ears. Dim gold light was quick to chase after the lively jazz melodies, while the cigarette smoke of several savvy women and hardened sea men sauntered in lazily after.</p><p>Ann could hardly believe her eyes. The Captain’s once mediocre sea-side seafood shack had been transformed into a strange union of high class decor and patrons coupled with a naughty night-life posture. There were dim candle lights encased in little red glasses that peppered the walls and tables, casting the whole place in a hypnotic strawberry glow. Tables were filled with well dressed men and women all laughing and shouting and getting drunker by the minute, and off to the corner Ann could see a man getting swindled at the poker table. She could see Nick there dealing the cards, his Jade suit now looking black in the reddish light. At the front of the speakeasy was a large opening for people to dance, and a stage with a live jazz band upon it. There were ladies there too, dancing ladies, red-haired ladies, perhaps can-can Ann thought, who were lacking in shyness as they threw their skirts about and kicked their legs into the air, bloomers and all. As they danced about Ann wondered if they were leftover attendants from The Captain’s days of calling the shots, or if they were new additions brought on to suit Babette’s own personal tastes.</p><p>She could feel Babette placing her hand on the small of her back, snapping her out of her musings. “Come along,” she said softly, “ve should get you signed in,” and began guiding her somewhere off to the side of the stairwell entrance.</p><p>“Signed in?” Ann asked.</p><p>“Oui, of course, I alvays have my guests sign in. It helps me to keep track of zhe kind of people who come in and out, you see.”</p><p>“I suppose that makes sense.”</p><p>Babette briefly looked over her shoulder and leaned in closer to Ann. “Just between you and me, we’ve actually had a pastor come in recently.”</p><p>“No foolin’?”</p><p>“You can see him over zhere.” Babette pointed towards the front of the stage. “Zhe vone vith the glasses.” </p><p>Ann scanned the crowd of dancers until her eyes landed on a lean man with thick rimmed glasses and a neat haircut that only a mother would pay compliments to. He was at the front of the dance floor, not dancing however, but standing as close to the stage as he could get with his eyes transfixed on the dancers. <em>Good lord.</em></p><p>They continued to make their way through the speakeasy, Babette gently guiding Ann as they went, as Ann became transfixed on spotting and picking out people in the crowd, curious to know what other kinds of ‘everyday citizens’ prowled this noisy room. She became too focused on the nosy task at hand, and bumped her hip into the sign in table. “Oh! Excuse me!”</p><p>“Not to worry hun,” a voice sweet and silly said, “you alright there?”</p><p>Sitting at the table was a lean and rosy cheeked woman with long mascara-covered eyelashes. Her hair was yellow and curled at the bottom and so incredibly stiff from hairspray that you could slip the little curlers right back in and they’d probably stay in place. In the strawberry light her nose looked almost like a cherry tomato, and was in desperate need of a good powdering. Next to a thick book upon her desk (presumably the sign in book) was a Dirty Shirley cocktail drink, with a straw badly stained with lipstick.</p><p>But out of all of these things, what was most striking about this woman was her height. Ann watched in shock as the woman at the desk rose to her full height, feeling her neck crane upward like it had never done before. Up until now Ann had always thought that Babette was the tallest woman she had ever met, but this woman had to be a few good heads taller at least! At the very top Ann could see that this woman had a cloche hat that was suffering from some wear and tear at the crown, and a joker playing card tucked into the band that was badly bent from scuffing against the tops of door frames.</p><p>She let out a giggle, silly and girlish, “Ohh, you must be Miss Babette’s new little friend!” She bent forward with such a smoothness that she almost seemed spineless and shook Ann’s hand excitedly. “Any friend of the boss’ is a friend of mine, doll face! You can call me Topsy!” Topsy turned to give Babette a Cheshire grin which she returned with a light nod, before smoothing out the skirts of her nautical dress and sitting back down. “Suppose you’re wonderin’ why a gal like me would go by a name like that, huh?” She gave her cocktail a few stirs with the straw, unaware of the lipstick stains now on her fingers. “Everybody always wonders why they call me Topsy, everybody!”</p><p>“Is it cuz you always reach the top shelf?” Ann blurted out before quickly slapping her hands over her mouth in dread.</p><p>The answer only seemed to amuse Topsy, who laughed and giggled in a way not dissimilar to a hyena. “No silly! It’s cuz no matter how bad of a scrap I get in, I always come out on top!” How this spindly woman could pick a fight, let alone survive one, was beyond Ann. “Speaking of names, dear,” she picked up the book at her desk with deliberate effort and turned it around to face Ann, “we need yours too.”</p><p>“Oh of course I um…” Ann trailed off as she dabbed a nearby fountain pen into an ink pot and flipped the book open to a random page, reading all of the intricate and varied signatures scribbled upon it.</p><p>
  <em>KC “The Case,” “Mad Mod” Lauren, Cleety “The Con,” “Stitch Witch” Liv, “Hail Mary” Hailey, Pastor John “The (Somewhat) Holy,” “Stichey” Mickey, “The Captain.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What were these names?!</em>
</p><p>The state of Ann’s dumbfoundedness grew more apparent as she continued to gawk at the book, speechless and unmoving, and it wasn’t until Babette placed a hand on her shoulder that she was able to be brought back to her senses. “You see Miss Ann, a lot of zhe folks zhat come here do not like to be so eazily traced, so to speak. So zhey come up vith zhese leetle nicknames to keep zheir identity somevhat anonymous. It is zhe same for zhe people zhat work here.”</p><p>“Oh, I see…” In the back of her mind, Ann wondered if Babette had one of these ‘little  nicknames’ too, as she hovered the pen over an empty space on the sign in page. After some careful thought she marked her place amongst the other names.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Raggedy” Ann.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Gee, that one's new for sure,” Topsy mused.</p><p>“Vhy ‘Raggedy’ Ann?”</p><p>“Oh,” Ann set the pen down in its little holder and gave Topsy a polite nod goodbye before linking her arm with Babette, “it was an old name our neighbor Susie used to call us when we were little, ‘Raggedy Ann and Andy,’ because she used to make us clothes with whatever rags she could find.” Ann went silent for a moment, feeling the bittersweetness of old memories swirl gently in her mind before snapping back to her lighter self. “Of course nowadays she can afford to make clothes from actual cloth, but she still calls us that from time to time. She’s even got some of the old photos framed up in her apartment somewhere.”</p><p>Ann gave a light chuckle as her eyes began to wander about the speakeasy again but Babette remained silent. “If it were up to me,” she thought, “you never vould have been in rags to begin vith.” She swallowed harshly and squeezed Ann’s arm in closer as the two of them wandered aimlessly about looking for a free table to sit at. There were a lot of things she wanted to say to Ann but...she watched as a bouncer dragged a drunkard out of the room and threw him out a back door leading into the alleyway, cracking his knuckles and closing the door behind him. Babette was grimly reminded of the kind of world she lived in. How anyone as sweet as Ann could make it this far was beyond her, but deep down, she hoped she could go farther. Ann already had a few rough edges to her sure, but if she could go far enough, she could reach Babette at the end and then… </p><p>
  <em>And then she’d be just like you.</em>
</p><p>Babette felt something cold and nauseating ebb away at her insides, her composed facade threatening to come undone. “No,” she thought, “I’ll find a vay to make her life radiant and full and alvays keep her close to me… somehow…” She looked down at Ann, her eyes faintly sparkling with melancholy. “I vill keep you safe, alvays, even if it kills me.”</p><p>“Babette..?” Ann asked, “Are you ok?”</p><p>Babette simply smiled at her, hiding any signs of worry on her face, and knelt down to place a warm kiss on Ann’s cheek. She stayed there for a moment, as the soft contact melted away her tensions, but Ann’s own body went rigid, and upon taking notice Babette was quick to snap away, clearing her throat and acting as if nothing happened, the cold feeling inside her spreading. The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment, unmoving, unspeaking, as passerby patrons moved around them like schools of fish, and after a moment Ann, with her eyes firmly fixed on the ground, reached up and threaded her fingers with Babette, feeling as she was was quick to join her grasp and give her a light reassuring squeeze.</p><p>“So you’re one of <em>those </em>kind of women, are ya now?” A voice low and gruff said. Sitting lonely at a table towards the back of the room was the reddest man Ann had met. Red coat, red mustache, red face from alcohol poisoning. The red light of the candle at his table illuminated his red bloodshot eyes that looked at Babette with contempt. “Is that why ya never accepted my affections?”</p><p>Babette scoffed. “Oh I can zhink of <em>several </em>reasons…” She squeezed Ann’s hand a little tighter as the two of them made their way to the man’s table. “Vhat part of your booze-rattled brain decided it vould be a good idea to come back here, Monsieur <em>Captain</em>?”</p><p>
  <em>The Captain!</em>
</p><p>Ann could hardly believe it! He looked even more haggard now than he did when she and Andy took his Silver Ghost at the drag race. She could only imagine how much more he must have lost between now and their last meeting. </p><p>“To believe my precious rose would turn into such a thorn..!” He grumbled and raised another bottle to his lips. “Ya should’ve stuck to dresses, that suit looks unbecoming on a lady. If I can even call ya that now.”</p><p>Babette rolled her eyes and pulled Ann closer to her, watching with a tinge of sadistic glee as the Captain tensed up at her display of affection. “As you can see,” she glided her fingers up and down Ann’s shoulder (Ann herself felt on the verge of fainting), “I am going to be <em>quite busy </em>tonight. If you came crawling here just to bozher me zhen I am afraid your efforts will be for nozhing.”</p><p>The Captain gripped the edge of the tablecloth, his knuckles turning white with rage, and spoke through gritted teeth. “Back when I first met you, you were just Babette Bouchard...but you...you…” He slammed his fists down, sending emptied bottles of beer and wine upward and off the table with a resounding <em>clink</em>. “You’re just that damned <em>‘Babyface’ </em>Babette!!” The Captain began to shake with rage and sadness as thick tears rolled down his stubbled chin. “Seducing a man’s heart and stealing out his own speakeasy! How could you stoop that low?!”</p><p>“I never once tried to seduce you.” Babette said curtly. Her hand had since glided up from Ann’s shoulder to play with her hair. “You just vouldn’t leave me alone.”</p><p>Ann kept quiet, lost in thought as Babette combed her fingers through her hair and the Captain cried into a table of empty bottles. “<em>Babyface? </em>Was that Babette’s nickname around here?” She looked up at Babette, taking in her long eyelashes and dimpled chubby cheeks. It would be a fitting nickname she supposed.</p><p>“Vhat did you even come in here for, you filthy brute?”</p><p>The Captain growled low and reached into his coat, pulling out a folded piece of paper that he held out to Babette. She scrutinized it for a moment before snatching it out of his hands, flipping it open with her free hand (her other hand was preoccupied with exploring the soft little hairs at Ann’s nape). </p><p>After a brief pause the Captain spoke again. “Stop makin’ that God-awful face, ladies oughta not look like that…”</p><p>Ann didn’t even need to look up to know what face the Captain was talking about. It was <em>that</em>face. That awful face that little brothers would make before putting spiders in their sister’s shoes. The kind of face that young boys would make before smashing a tomato on some poor unsuspecting soul. The kind of face Babette made when she stole the Captain’s speakeasy out from under him or when she found out he lost his car to Ann and Andy.</p><p>Or when she was reading his resume.</p><p>“Oh,” she tried to keep her composure as her shoulders began to shake, “you, hehhehh, you vant a job here?”</p><p>“Damn it woman, take me seriously for once-“</p><p>The Captain’s words were quickly overpowered by Babette’s strange laughter which sounded like a witch gasping for air. He sat there feeling increasingly emasculated as Babette passed his poor excuse for a job application to Ann to read, and it wasn’t long before Topsy and Nick arrived as well, curious to know what the commotion was. They all snickered amongst themselves like a group of school children as they passed the crumpled piece of paper around. </p><p>“DAMMIT WOMAN!!” The Captain slammed his fists down on the table. “I’VE BEEN  NEEDIN’ WORK EVER SINCE YOU RAN ME OUT, IT'S THE LEAST YOU COULD DO NOW!!”</p><p>Babette sighed and wiped a tear from her eye, her stomach aching from laughing. “Ahh, ahaha, I suppose so.” She turned to Nick. “Is Monsieur Leo here?”</p><p>Nick nodded and began to head to a room towards the back. “I’ll go get’em.” He snickered. “Poor bastard ain’t gonna know what’s comin’ to him.”</p><p>Before long Nick re-emerged from the back room, with a bearded man following in after him and muttering about “what was so damn funny?” Based on his clothing he was undoubtedly a man of the sea, perhaps even a captain. He wore a thick black raincoat and a dapper black cap to match. On the shoulder of the coat was a king of hearts playing card sewn into it and in his hand was a walking cane topped off with an intricate carving of an octopus, it’s tentacles curling down the length of the cane. </p><p>As he made his way closer Ann scrutinized his face. Throughout her life she had seen many young men wave excitedly from boats docked into the  ports, eager to begin their life on the sea, but as they ventured out from those ports again and again she’d watch as they slowly morphed into hardened sailors, their optimism now jaded by sea life. Within due time they transformed into the kind of long-bearded sea captains you’d read about in folktales. This man before her looked like he was a few trips short of becoming completely dulled by life. His eyes still held a young sparkling vigor and kindness to them, but one eye was squinted, and it wouldn’t be long before it was shut tight for good.</p><p>“What th’ hell is so funny, Nick?” The bearded captain made his way to the group and tipped his cap at Ann, Topsy, and Babette.</p><p>“Captain Leo,” Babette said, “I believe I have a new sailor to add to your crew.”</p><p>“Well it’s about time!” Leo said, “I could barely get by as is with only-“ his eyes trailed over to where Babette was gesturing before landing on the Captain. Leo stomped the end of his cane down. “No. No way. I’m not taking <em>him </em>on!”</p><p>“Veren’t you complaining about how short-staffed your crew vas just a few weeks ago?” Babette closed the gap between them and stared him down from her full height, her hat casting a dark shadow on his eyes.</p><p>“I think he’d be more trouble than he’s worth,” Leo grumbled.</p><p>Babette reflected for a moment, before her voice became stern and dark. “You vere late on zhis veek’s shipment.” Leo could feel a cold sweat coming on. “Ve ran out of alcohol last Monday zhanks to you. Had it occurred on zhe veekend ve vould’ve lost <em>even more</em>profit.”</p><p>“It’s not my fault, I swear!” Leo shouted. “There were cops patrolling the shore! Me and Peter couldn’t port until they left! Do you realize what we have to go through every two weeks?!”</p><p>Leo could feel the stress of his work weighing heavily on him. He was in charge of the rum running, which entailed him with the arduous task of sailing overseas to pick up bootlegged liquor supplies from foreign (and cheaper priced) ports. The voyages were long and thankless and to top it off his crew was severely lacking in extra hands, leaving him with only a single plucky sailor to help him run the ship, Sailor Peter. At the very least, Peter was a polite and upbeat young man with an unwavering optimism, but Captain Leo always wondered how many more trips it would be until that optimism began to ebb away.</p><p>Each excursion tasked Leo and Peter with finding a way to discreetly bring their ship onto the shores without alerting the eyes of any patrolling policemen, so that they could load up the boat with bootlegs in peace. As such they soon developed a routine in which Peter would be thrown overboard and brought onto the shores of the sandy beaches by the force of the waves, and scout the area once he was there.</p><p>Leo would lift him up by his armpits and dangle him over the edge of the boat, telling him “Peter, ya sure as hell can’t swim, but ya sure as hell can float, good luck buddy,” before tossing him overboard, hearing a gurgled ‘aye aye captain’ as he splashed into the deep ocean blue. If there were no cops, Peter would sound a small bugle attached to his belt. If there were cops however, they seldom suspected any suspicious activity from Peter and his well-mannered disposition, and would instead take him into the station for shelter, assuming he was a good natured young man who simply fell off a boat somewhere overseas. Leo would arrive a few hours later, claiming they found his long lost brother, or nephew, or cousin twice removed, or whatever last minute relations he could come up with on the way over to the station, and bring him back to the ship thereafter.</p><p>“This job is ludicrous!” Leo shouted, “we can’t be expected to do even half the things we’re supposed to with only <em>two crew members!! </em>” He quickly covered his mouth, realizing the severity of his words.</p><p>“Ah-ha! So you <em>are </em>understaffed!” A deadly grin crept across Babette’s face. She gestured towards the Captain who was halfway into a drunken coma. “You are taking him vith you. Tonight. Consider zhat punishment for your tardiness zhis veek.”</p><p>Leo tapped his cane against the floor again, signaling frustration and defeat. “Th’ hell am I even supposed to call this guy? ‘Captain?’ He can’t be the captain, I’m the captain!”</p><p>“Oh I’m sure you’ll figure somezhing out…” she wrapped her arm around Ann’s shoulder. “Now, if zhere aren’t any more distractions tonight I’d like to-“</p><p>A strange laughter filled the room. Manic, insane, echoing, that made everyone except for Ann freeze completely. She watched as several hands dived into coat pockets, and even Topsy kept her hand cautiously placed on her thigh, as if something was strapped to her leg just beneath the dress. She was close enough to Babette that she could feel her fingers curl around something just inside her jacket. Something metallic and hard.</p><p>
  <em>It felt like a gun.</em>
</p><p>“<em>Merde…</em>” Babette muttered just beneath her breath, scanning the room before landing her eyes on a table in the back. There were two strange men there, laughing wildly as if they were on the verge of losing control, and sporting gaudy ties with odd and specific tie clips. They were circular tie clips that portrayed a smiling face with wide teeth. Two k’s replaced where the eyes would be. </p><p>“Miss Ann,” Babette put up a calm facade, “please forgive zhe brief intrusion for zhe evening, I have a bit of business to attend to.” She turned to Topsy. “Vhy don’t you escort Miss Ann to zhe powder room for a moment? Ann, vhen I am finished I assure you ve can resume our evening, uninterrupted.”</p><p>Ann returned a nervous smile to Babette, watching as she turned her head back to the laughing men. From over her shoulder she could see a deathly glare upon her face, feeling a kind of anger and darkness she never knew was possible from Babette. She wanted to stay and help, not be pushed aside like some kind of delicate thing, but Topsy was already guiding her by the arm towards the powder room with quick and urgent movements.</p><p>Nick and Leo followed quickly behind Babette, whose swift gait brought with her a wind that blew out the candles on every table she passed. When she reached the peculiar men there was smoke and darkness curling all around her. “Gentlemen,” she said sweetly, “vould you care to have a chat vith my associates and I, outside?”</p><p> </p><p>--------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>To say the powder room was nauseatingly girlish would be an understatement. It was covered in shades of strawberry reds and pinks, and little hearts that decorated the wallpaper. It was hard to believe that any of this would be part of Babette’s personal interior decorating.</p><p>“Isn’t this room so cute?”</p><p> Ann watched as Topsy entered the room, the top of her hat scuffing against the doorframe and bending the playing card upon it even worse. “Miss Babette wanted to change it up when she got the place, but I convinced her not to!”</p><p>Ah, that would explain it, Ann mused.</p><p>“Plus my daughter really loves bright colors like this!”</p><p>Ann’s eyes opened a little wider. “You have a daughter?”</p><p>“Yeah! My little Puddin’! She’s fast asleep back home right now, she’s my little pride and joy!”</p><p>Ann felt funny. There were so many people who seemed to be sweet-natured on the surface but were taking seedy jobs like this. It was hard at first to believe a lady like Babette would do this sort of work, but it was even harder to believe it with Topsy, especially given how dangerous it all seemed.</p><p>
  <em>And life threading.</em>
</p><p>“...Is Babette gonna be ok?” Ann asked quietly. “Is she in danger?”</p><p>A wave of sympathy came over Topsy. “Aww, bless ya heart ya so sweet to be worryin’ over Miss Babette like that!” She pulled out a compact and some lipstick from her pocket. “Here, have a seat on the counter dear, lemme fix your makeup up!”</p><p>Ann reluctantly did as she was told, as an uneasy feeling whirled in her stomach.</p><p>“Aw, chin up dollface, Miss Babette’s not in any trouble, and neither are you!”</p><p>“Ya sure?”</p><p>“Sure I’m sure! The Boss is crazy about ya anyhow, ya got nothin’ to worry about!” Topsy watched with satisfaction as Ann began to perk up. “There’s that smile hun!” She dabbed a little powder on Ann’s cheeks. “Plus, just between you and me, Miss Babette is a real sweetie deep down-“</p><p> </p><p>--------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Babette cracked her knuckles across one of the peculiar men’s nose, feeling it break from the impact. She shook her fist and made her way to the other man who was tied up and bloodied in the alleyway. She lifted him up by his collar as her breath clouded up and swirled about her victim in the cold night air. “Vhy did your boss send you here…?” She said darkly.</p><p>The peculiar man just began to laugh, his body twitching and wriggling under his constraints. “We just wanted to send ya a warm welcome from Chucklehut’s, Babyface!”</p><p>
  <em>‘Warm Welcome’ my ass.</em>
</p><p>Babette looked over at their discarded coats. There were pistols and spare bullets lining each one.</p><p>“Your boss must be fond of varm velcomes. You and your little friend are zhe fifth velcomes he’s sent.” The peculiar man began to laugh even harder, prompting Babette to ram her knee up into his chest and send him crashing down into the hard concrete. The sight of it made his companion laugh maniacally, as the two of them polluted the alleyway with their echoing howls. Nick and Leo winced a bit at the sight of it all.</p><p>She walked over to one of the men, sat him up against the wall, and knelt down in front of him. “Gentlemen,” she cooed, “I am afraid zhat you are interrupting an important evening for me, and seeing as I have a guest tonight I vould hate to get my clothes bloodied…” She gently ran her fingers along the man’s cheeks, cupping his chin and looking at him gently with a sweet, serene, Babyface. The man’s laughter began to calm for a moment, almost coming to a complete halt before he felt a hard pressure around his neck as Babette tightened her grip. He began to laugh harder, straining for breath, as he grew panicked, his companion only growing silent from it all, watching with anxiety. He watched as the softness in Babette’s face faded, replaced with dark animalistic eyes. Her grip grew tighter and tighter, wrapping her fingers around his neck until-</p><p>
  <em>Snap.</em>
</p><p>His neck went limp in her hands. She dropped his lifeless body to the ground as it flopped over onto its side. She turned to look at his companion, that same Babyface sweetness masking her as her hands smoothly glided over his cheeks.</p><p>“<em>Klaus KooKoo </em>sends his regards,” he said with a nervous chuckle, and left the world the same way his companion did.</p><p>“Christ.” Leo muttered. He wasn’t sure how many times he could stand to witness Babette’s back alley murders. “How many of these idiots does Klaus have to send over before he finally gives up?”</p><p>“Zhe problem is,” Babette stood up and walked away from the bodies, wiping blood off her knuckles with a handkerchief,  “Klaus is not very good at keeping track of his men. He probably von’t even realize zhey’re gone.” She reached into her pocket and placed a ring back on her right ring finger, having had to pocket it earlier while doling out punches. As she rubbed the ring she looked down at the two bodies on the ground. She couldn’t keep doing this week after week. Sooner or later they would come with more than just pistols and bullets, and what if they came on a night that Ann was here again? What if she were to be caught in the crossfire-</p><p>Babette shook the dark thought out of her head. This needed to be dealt with before it got worse.</p><p>“Ve vill make examples out of zhese ones. Cut off zheir fingers, zhe vones vith rings on zhem, and send zhem to Klaus after you dispose of zhe bodies.”</p><p>“Wha-“ Leo stammered.</p><p>“Boss, isn’t that kind of a tall order?” Nick replied, “this could start somethin’, y’know.”</p><p>“Or it could <em>finish </em>things,” Babette said sharply, “and frankly I am sick of zhat mangy mutt sending his fleas to us every veek!” She lit up another cigar, the embers glowing with her rage. “Take care of zhis at vonce! I vill be inside.” And with that she slammed the door behind her.</p><p>Nick flicked open a knife and followed Leo as he hooked the end of his cane into the suspenders of one of the bodies, dragging it behind him as he went further back in the alleyway. “Jesus,” Leo muttered, “this job is killing me.”</p><p> </p><p>------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Ann and Topsy exited the powder room and gave each other a little wave as they parted ways. “Good luck with ya date, hun!” Topsy said as she hummed a little and made her way back to the sign in table. Ann smiled and looked about the speakeasy, scanning for Babette, spotting her come in from a metal door in the back of the room. Her nostrils were flaring as smoke plumed all around her hair, the cigar in her mouth burning bright and illuminating her enraged eyes. She bit down hard on the cigar, forcing its embers to glow like a roaring flame as she inhaled from it deeply. But when she locked eyes with Ann from across the room, the animosity in her gaze faded. She exhaled a soft cloud of smoke and looked at Ann with a tender and loving Babyface<em>.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you want more great raggedy content while waiting for the next chapter, be sure to check out some of my friends who made name cameo's in this chapter!</p><p>-"Captain" Leo: kind-little-fella on Tumblr</p><p>-Nick "The Prick:" spaloonbabooguuscooties on Tumblr</p><p>-"Stitchwitch" Liv: closeted-calliope on Tumblr and AO3</p><p>-"Hail Mary" Hailey: thenerdiestbirdie on Tumblr</p><p>see you all in the next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>More chapters to come soon! Hope you liked it, folks!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>